Israel’s former National Security Advisor has warned Tel Aviv that it lacks the military power to launch a successful attack against Iran.

“To our regret, there is no Israeli military capability that would enable us to reach a situation whereby Iran’s nuclear capabilities are destroyed without the possibility of recovery,” Giora Eiland said during a Thursday conference at Tel Aviv University, Ynetnews reported.

Military strikes and aerial attacks cannot force Iran to surrender or give up its nuclear program, said Eiland, pointing out that Israel ‘cannot defeat Iran’.

Israel, the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed regime, claims that Iran’s nuclear program, which is under the constant supervision of UN nuclear watchdog inspectors, is aimed at military purposes and poses an existential threat against its security.

Israeli officials regularly threaten Iran with a military attack on those bases.

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Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that the country’s nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only. They have even stated that Tehran has no intention to launch a military attack against Israel.

During the conference, Eiland also warned of the dire consequences of carrying out an unsuccessful strike against the country.

“If you undertake a failed military operation, you pay three-fold: firstly, you didn’t succeed in hitting what you wanted, secondly, you’ve hurt your deterrence capabilities, and thirdly, you’re perceived as the aggressor,” he said.

“Iran is not Iraq of 1981 and not even Syria of 2007. It is likely that an attack on Iran would garner a widespread response not merely by Iran, but also other nations in the region,” he said.

An Iranian retaliation following an attack would endanger Israeli and American interests in the region, warned Eiland.

The former Israeli general also said that Tel Aviv must coordinate its strategies with Washington to carry out a military strike against Iran, as it does when attacking the Gaza Strip.

“It is completely clear that if an Israeli operation in Gaza requires certain level of coordination with the US, this is certainly the case with an operation in Iran, where the implications beyond Israel are of course far reaching,” he said.

Despite advising against military action, the Israeli war expert said that Tel Aviv’s opportunity to attack Iran is ‘short-lived’ adding that a possible strike would be feasible for a two year period, beginning in the summer of 2009.