A senior security official said tonight (Saturday) that israel's security establishment had been instructed to prepare for a military option regarding the issue of developing nuclear weapons in Iran. The source made the remarks in the shadow of a round of meetings held by Defense Minister Benny Gantz in the United States with the top security forces. 

"The Iranians will not rush to cross the nuclear threshold, because they understand the significance, but we are monitoring the issue," said the security official who participated in the talks in the United States. 

Alongside ties with the United States, Israel needs to be strong in its own right. We told the Americans that the military had been instructed to prepare for a military option, we would not detail the dates."

Over the past two days, Gantz held a round of meetings with senior security officials. Today, speaking at the IAC conference in Florida, he addressed the Iranian nuclear issue, saying: "There is no doubt that Iran is a problem for the world - and that at the same time Israel is preparing its capabilities." 

"The U.S. and European countries understand very well what's going on and are losing patience," he continued. "There's been no progress in the vienna round of negotiations, and they understand that the Iranians are playing games. What I told them is that Iran has bad cards at the moment, and the economic situation there is difficult and therefore there is room for international pressure - political, economic and military, so that Iran will stop its fantasies about its nuclear program." 

The defense minister said he had found an attentive administration in Washington. "I told them that Iran was a global and regional problem first, and only then a challenge to Israel. I hear from world leaders how damaging Iran is to their security, including africa, South America and other Middle Eastern countries."