Netanyahu to Iran: ‘Do not test Israel’s resolve’
Iran will retaliate against any "unwise move" from Israel by flattening Tel Aviv and killing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior official in Tehran has threatened.
IRAN will retaliate against any “unwise move” from Israel by flattening Tel Aviv and killing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior official in Tehran has threatened.
“We will level Tel Aviv to the ground and will not give any opportunity to Netanyahu to flee,” said Mohsen Rezaei.
His comments on Monday reflect an intensified trading of threats by Jerusalem and Tehran.
Netanyahu warned the Iranians, speaking at a security conference in Munich: “Do not test Israel’s resolve.”
His speech was a stark and strong message to delegates from around the world about Iran’s agenda – and came on the heels of the February 10 showdown when Iran ramped up tensions by sending a drone from Syria to Israel.
Netanyahu held up a piece of metal, which he said was part of the Iranian drone, and addressed Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“I brought it here so you can see for yourself. Mr Zarif, do you recognise this?,” asked Netanyahu. “You should. It’s yours,” he said, telling him to take it back to Iran with a message not to test Israel.
America is backing Israel in its emboldened rhetoric towards Iran. America’s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, called the drone incident a “wake-up call” to the world over Iranian power in Syria, and American national security adviser H.R. McMaster said that the “time is now” to act against Iran.
Ze’ev Maghen, an analyst at Bar Ilan University’s strategic studies centre, told The AJN that he sees a confrontation between Israel and Iran on the cards “in the near to middle future”, saying: “The Iranians are on a roll and have succeeded in just about every foreign policy and military adventure they engage in, and see us as the next adventure.”
Asked for a timescale, Maghen said not years but months.
Zarif told the Munich conference that Israel’s “so-called invincibility” was shattered after the drone incident when an Israeli plane, retaliating against an Iranian site in Syria, was shot down.
And so, just days after Iran ramped up tensions by launching the drone, a war of words was in full swing.
Netanyahu promised in his speech: “Israel will continue to act to prevent Iran from establishing another terror base from which to threaten Israel.
“But Iran continues to try to cross those red lines. Last week its brazenness reached new heights, literally new heights. It sent a drone into Israeli territory, violating Israel’s sovereignty, threatening our security.
“We destroyed that drone and the control centre that operated it from Syria, and when our places were fired upon, Israel destroyed Syrian anti-aircraft batteries.
“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act, if necessary, not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”
He urged delegates to pledge “not to repeat the mistakes of the past”.
He said, “Appeasement never works. The hour to prevent war is getting late, but it is not too late.”
NATHAN JEFFAY
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