Israel picks new defence minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday chose a former security chief as his new civil defence minister amid heightened public debate over a possible strike on Iran.
Avraham Dichter, who has served as internal security minister and head of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, has said in the past he would prefer Israel not to go it alone in any attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Iran yesterday said it is dismissing Israeli threats of an imminent attack against it, explaining that even some Israeli officials realised such a "stupid" act would provoke "very severe consequences."