Ex-Mossad chief: Iran strike would mean war

Former Mossad Chief Meir Dagon warned that an Israeli strike on Iran would lead to a regional war, Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to Dagan, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas will respond with massive rocket attacks on Israel. He went on saying that "In that scenario, Syria may join in the fray." After he was being criticized for speaking out on this topic, Dagan said that the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Finance Minister cannot prevent him from speaking his mind. "We are not living in an undemocratic country; in democratic countries, even people like me have the right to express their opinions," Dagan said. Dagan added that such a war would take a heavy toll in terms of loss of life and would paralyze life in Israel. These comments were in response to a recent remark by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in which he claimed that if a war breaks out between Israel and Iran, it would result in no more than 500 dead Israelis. Three weeks ago, Barak told Israel Radio that "a war is no picnic, but in any scenario there won't be 50 thousand or 5,000 or even 500 dead." Barak added "When the head of the Mossad unprecedentedly brings journalists to Mossad headquarters and instructs them to oppose the prime minister, I think that is very serious behavior. I would have expected him to act intelligently, without manipulations." It was announced earlier on Tuesday that Dagan will lead a group that will endeavor to immediately alter the system of government in Israel. The group is operating without much publicity, backed by a group of leaders in the fields of business, culture and law that has already begun to raise funds.