Former CIA head signals full-scale war inevitable if Israel ‘goes all out’ 

Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta said the war in the Middle East is at a crucial point now and future actions will signal whether there will be an imminent “full scale war.”

In a Friday interview with MSNBC Reports, Panetta, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, spoke about the current state of and tensions in the Middle East in the wake of Iran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this week. Israel has been engaged in a military operation in Lebanon, and it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike late last month.

“There’s going to be tough talk on all sides right now, but the bottom line is going to be what happens militarily and whether or not Israel can possibly limit its response, or whether it goes all out,” Panetta said. “If it goes all out, then Iran is going to respond as well.”  

Panetta also commented on President Biden’s relationship and attitude toward Israel, adding that it is difficult to “read” what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political actions are “all about.”  

Panetta said in the last 70 years, Israel “has never been able to achieve militarily the goals that it’s been after, a pattern that could impact future actions of the Israeli military government.  

Fears about Iran’s retaliation on Israel for the assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran have been on the rise for several months. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the recent missile attack on Tel Aviv a “significant escalation,” as Israel vowed retribution shortly after the attack concluded.  

Netanyahu has also said Iran “will pay” for the missiles launched at his country. 

“This evening, Iran made a big mistake — and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said during a security Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies.” 

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended his country’s actions, saying that Iran would attack again in the event of an Israeli response.  

“If we needed to do that again, we would do it again in the future,” he said on Friday.