IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi met Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in Tel Aviv Wednesday and gave him a detailed briefing on the strategic situation in the Middle East. Ashkenazi told the veteran senator that Iran's continued development of nuclear technology along with long-range missiles constitute the central and most dangerous threat to Israel and the region.

In addition, he said, Iran sponsors, advises, arms and finances Hizbullah, Hamas and other terrorist bodies. Iran should be dealt with by the entire region and by the free world, he said, and all options for neutralizing the threat should be on the table.

Ashkenazi presented the longtime friend of Israel, who heads the Congressional Defense Committee's Subcommittee on Defense, with a special Certificate of Appreciation from the IDF and its soldiers.