WarSclerotic

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned Thursday against an Israeli attack on Iran , saying such a move would likely lead to a regional war involving Hezbollah, Hamas, and Syria.

“I’m concerned about possible mistakes and I prefer to speak out before there is a catastrophe,” Dagan said in an interview with on the Israeli television program “Uvda.”

	Mossad head Meir Dagan.
	Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum / BauBau

“I think that engaging, with open eyes, in a regional war is warranted only when we are under attack or when the sword is already cutting against our live flesh. It is not an alternative that should be chosen lightly.”

Dagan stressed that though he cannot predict how many casualties an attack on Iran would yield, he said, “I have to assume that the level of destruction, paralysis of every-day life, and Israeli death toll would be high.”

He said that he has no interest in hiding his fervent opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Dagan noted that Barak’s past comments on Iran convey to the world that Israel has less than a year to carry out an military strike.

“I am very concerned,” he said. “My understanding of Barak’s comments is that Israel must act within this timeframe, but I don’t believe this is accurate.”