JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of being “responsible for 90% of the Middle East’s problems.”

Israel is working relentlessly “to limit the presence of Iranian forces in Syria” and thwart Tehran’s “attempts to transfer weapons to Syria and Lebanon,” Netanyahu said at a ceremony where he appointed Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi as the new military chief of staff.

“We will not wait for a sharp sword to be placed on our necks. We will act,” he asserted.

Halevi said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “will prepare for war in arenas far and near,” including by boosting recruitment.

“Our enemies should know we can do what we say we will do, and we are ready to do much more than what we say,” he added, according to local news outlet The Times of Israel.

There has been no comment so far from Iran on the Israeli officials’ statements.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report