Israel says threat of attack on Iran, no bluff

Following years of persistent threats by Israel to attack Iran, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister rejects speculations that the warnings are just a bluff, insisting they are very real.

Nearly three weeks after three consecutive days of nuclear negotiations between officials from Iran, the United States, Russia and France, Israel's deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon accused the Tehran government of stalling tactics.

Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Ayalon accused Iran of not being sincere in its negotiation with the P5+1 over its uranium enrichment program.

"If Iranian behavior and conduct continues as they have exhibited so far, it is obvious that their intentions are only to buy time and procrastinate," Ayalon said.

The Israeli official went on to repeat long-standing military threats against Iran, insisting that a military option will not be taken off the table against the country if other measures fail.

Insisting that the threat is real and not a bluff, Ayalon said, "The one who's bluffing is Iran, which is trying to play with cards they don't have."

The renewed threat comes as earlier in October, Ephraim Sneh, a former Israeli deputy defense minister, said that time was running out for action to stop Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

"If no crippling sanctions are introduced by Christmas, Israel will strike," Sneh said. "If we are left alone, we will act alone."

Iran faces pressure to halt its nuclear enrichment, as world powers claim its program is aimed at building a nuclear bomb.

Along with world powers, Israel — the sole possessor of a nuclear warhead in the Middle East — accuses Iran of efforts to develop a nuclear bomb, maintaining that a "nuclear Iran" is the prime existential threat to its security.

Tehran, however, has denied seeking nuclear weapons and called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.