Israel will not act militarily against Iran "unless the sword is literally on its throat", a former Israeli army chief has said.
"I think the military option is the last resort," former Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi said, adding all other options must be exhausted to stop Iran from going nuclear.
"Unless the sword is literally on your throat, you don't use it," Ashkenazi told CNN.
Asked about the much publicised plan mooted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Ehud Barak, referred to as a P-plus plan, reserved for an imminent state of war, during his tenure at the head of IDF, Ashkenazi said the security cabinet eventually decided not to go ahead with this measure.
"The question then was what was the correct time to consider the military option, and we made our recommendations to the cabinet, and my opinion was that we still had time," he said.
On the Syrian political turmoil, the former general was of the opinion that the West must take action, noting "doing nothing is definitely the wrong message."
When asked whether Bashar al-Assad's fall would be "good for Israel," Ashkenazi responded, "it's a mixed picture."
He, however, said it would be good news since it would constitute a major blow to Iran and Lebanese Shi'ite faction Hizbullah.
"People should understand that Syria is a logistic hub for Hizbullah. Most of the weaponry Hizbullah possesses came from Syria depots, while the money came from Iran," he said.
Moreover, Ashkenazi said Iran would lose its only state ally in the region - its gate to the Arab world.
On the other side of the coin, he said Israel may be threatened by cross-border terror, but the country "has the experience to deal with it.
