Iranian regime racing at 'frantic pace' toward bomb

Ynetnews -- With sharp cuts in the defense budget looming, the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convened Tuesday morning to discuss the security threats facing Israel.

"The recent period has been characterized by the crossing of all red lines by the radical axis," said Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman, who chairs the committee.

Addressing the purported use of chemical weapons in Syria, Lieberman pointed a finger at the international community. "The massacre of 90,000 people has not yielded a response from the international community. The answer we received was that (the UN) would withdraw its observers (from Syria)," he said.

Turning his attention to Iran, Lieberman told the meeting, "There is no doubt they are racing at a frantic pace toward a nuclear bomb. I hope we will make the right decisions."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz told the committee members that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime "continues to be challenged more and more. There have been ups and downs in his ability to govern, and in certain areas this ability is becoming very limited.

"Neither side is making any real progress on the ground," the IDF chief said of the battles between Syrian army forces and rebels trying to overthrow Assad.

"We have no desire to (fight) in Syria, and when continued fire (emanating from Syria) is identified (in the Golan Heights), we work to remove the danger," he added.

An IDF Intelligence Directorate official said during the meeting that "there are no more question marks regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria."