New Delhi: Israel’s Ambassador to Bharat, Reuven Azar, has warned Iran that they will bear results if they continue their aggression. He stated that Israel has taken precise action to defend itself and Iran will have to deal with the consequences if they decide to escalate.
In an interview with ANI, Azar said that the intelligence regarding the imminent warhead pairing of Iran was shared with counterparts in the US and denied involvement of the US in Operation Rising Lion.
When asked whether Israel shared intelligence about imminent warhead pairing of Iran with US counterparts, he responded, “yes.” Were they involved in the operation in any way, he stated, “no.” However, he mentioned that US President Donald Trump was informed about it.
When asked whether Trump was told about it, he responded, “yes.”
On being asked if, with this attack (Operation Rising Lion), now American bases in the region are fair game for Iran, Reuven Azar said, “It’s completely up to the Iranians. If they continue their aggression, they will bear the results. At this point in time, Israel has taken precise action to defend itself, and if the Iranians decide to escalate, they will have to deal with the consequences.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced the launch of a large-scale military campaign, Operation Rising Lion, aimed at dismantling what he described as an existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Netanyahu said Israel had struck multiple high-value Iranian targets in a decisive first strike.
Reuven Azar emphasised that nations are responding responsibly to Israel’s action against Iran. He noted that Israel has shared intelligence with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), friends and Western powers and mentioned that they understand the “ferocity and radicalism” coming from Iran.
When asked about a perception that Israel is the aggressor following its strikes on Iran, Reuven Azar said, “I haven’t seen, I’ve seen the responses following what happened tonight. I think that many countries are responding in a very responsible way. Of course, they’re in a situation of alarm and concern, but they haven’t delegitimised our right to self-defence. I think the fact that we have shared intelligence, both with the IAEA and with other Western powers and other friends. People understand the ferocity and the radicalism coming from Iran, the fact that they have been doing all these activities to destroy us, and haven’t seen condemnation so far. We are, of course, in touch with the Indian government as well, and we are coordinating briefs to our colleagues to present them with both the information we have and the action that we’ve taken.”
Defending Israel’s action against Iran, Reuven Azar stated that Israel has been acting very responsibly and has given many chances to Iran to retract from its policy. According to him, Iran intends to take Jerusalem and wants to control the Islamic world.
Azar stated, “I think that Israel has been acting very responsibly because we’ve been postponing this military action for a very long time. Iran has been given many, many chances to retract from this policy. They have been sanctioned, they’ve been negotiating with. We have seen many, many attempts by different countries in the world to try to divert Iran from this line of action, and the fact that we have reached this point is because it’s an imminent moment that we couldn’t continue living with, and therefore, we took action. I think people appreciate the degree of our restraint.”
“And I can tell you that many countries in the Arab world feel as threatened by Israel as Israel, if not more, because, you know, what the Iranians are doing is very clear for many countries. Iran wants to take Jerusalem, but it’s only a stop on the way to Mecca and Medina. This is what they want to do. They want to control the Islamic world, and they have been attacking other countries in the past. Look what happened more than four years ago in Saudi Arabia when they directly attacked the oil production of Saudi Arabia. So, I think that Israel is actually supported, and people, even if they don’t support, they understand why we are taking this action,” he added.
Netanyahu said Israel had struck multiple high-value Iranian targets in a decisive first strike. “Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” he said, adding that the mission would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
The Israeli leader accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons programme in defiance of global warnings, pointing to enriched uranium stockpiles capable of producing multiple nuclear bombs.
“In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine,” he noted, warning that Tehran had taken “steps to weaponise this enriched uranium” and could develop a nuclear weapon within months.
Netanyahu likened the current moment to the prelude to World War II, referencing the Holocaust and past global inaction in the face of rising threats. “Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were the victims of a holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime,” he said.
Reaffirming Israel’s red lines, Netanyahu declared: “Now, as Prime Minister, I’ve made it clear time and again. Israel will never allow those who call for our annihilation to develop the means to achieve that goal. Tonight, Israel backs those words with action.”
He elaborated on the targets, stating, “We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme. We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization programme. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile programme.” (ANI)
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