Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to implement a US-brokered ceasefire deal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will allow Israel to focus on Iran.
Israel's security cabinet approved the ceasefire deal on Tuesday and the whole cabinet is due to review it later in the day. Lebanon and Hezbollah have also agreed to the proposal which is expected to be implemented on Wednesday.
"The ceasefire deal with Lebanon now means Israel will focus on Iran's threat", Netanyahu said in a speech following the approval of the truce deal.
Netanyahu said there were three reasons to pursue a ceasefire: to focus on Iran, to replenish depleted arms supplies and give the army a rest and finally to isolate Hamas, whose attack on Israelis on October 7, 2023, triggered a devastating war in Gaza and saw Hezbollah join conflict with Israel.
Hitting the 'head of octopus'
Netanyahu said that he is "determined to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."
"That threat has always been my top priority and is even more so today, (is) when you hear Iran's leaders state over and over again their intention to obtain nuclear weapons," the Israeli prime minister said. "For me, removing that threat is the most important mission to ensure the existence and future of the State of Israel."
Israel’s defense minister said earlier this month the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic are now more vulnerable than ever, following Israel’s October 26 airstrikes which targeted Iran’s key air defense systems.
The Israeli air raids last month knocked out Iran's last three Russian-provided S-300 air defense missile systems, Fox News reported at the time citing US and Israeli officials. The surface-to-air S-300s were the last in the Islamic Republic's arsenal after one was destroyed in an attack in April which was also likely carried out by Israel.
"We destroyed major parts of Iran's air defense system and missile-manufacturing capabilities, and we demolished a significant component of their nuclear program," Netanyahu said in his Tuesday speech, calling Iran the "head of the octopus".
Iranian authorities have consistently called for Israel's destruction and consistently refuse call it by name but refers to it as the "Zionist entity".