The country’s Ambassador to India Reuven Azar has said Israel wants peace in the region but is not ready to be attacked directly or indirectly by Iran.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Saturday, Mr Azar said this was one of the signals his country wanted to send with its attacks on Iran earlier in the day and the other message is that Tehran has many more targets in Iran. Ability to hit targets. Chooses to move forward.
“What Israel did was a very precise attack that destroyed Iran’s air defense systems, and targeted military installations associated with their missile and drone programs. The signal here is very clear: Israel attacked directly or indirectly by Iran. Will not agree to continue indirectly,” the ambassador said, pointing to Iran’s proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, with whom Israel is already engaged in conflict.
Earlier on October 1, Iran had fired 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets.
Claiming that Iran had now been exposed, Mr. Azar said Israel was not concerned by comments from the Tehran regime warning of a “proportionate response” to an Israeli attack.
“We are ready for this. We are fully coordinating with our allies, especially the United States, which is fully supporting our steps. It is very clear that Israel is determined to harm Iran. could have done much more but decided to limit its response out of responsibility because we want to focus on this operation that the Israeli Cabinet has set out to do – to completely eliminate Hamas’ military capabilities, “Repatriating our hostages and ensuring that Hamas never arms again,” the ambassador said.
In the north, where Israel shares a border with Lebanon, the ambassador said the aim was to resettle Israeli communities in areas from which they were evacuated due to Hezbollah attacks.
“We are working there too, we have dismantled the military infrastructure that Hezbollah has built there over decades. And we will not agree that Iran will try to interfere and attack Israel. If they do that If we continue to do so, Israel will feel free to act more decisively,” he warned.
‘Will pay the price’
On the question of whether Israel is locked in a never-ending war, Mr. Azar said that while it may appear, his country is defending itself and has created a situation in which Hamas now attacks it with missiles and leadership. Cannot attack with. Hezbollah has been wiped out – and now it is up to Iran to “accept the new reality”.
“If they do not accept the new reality and do not come to the table to create a more stable situation in our region, they will pay a price,” he said.
The ambassador said avenues of diplomacy are always available and stressed that Israel has not started the war, which began on October 7, 2023, following Hamas attacks.
“We want to restore peace in our region. We are ready for diplomacy, but it has to be placed on the foundation of the other side’s understanding that Israel will be relentless. We will not rest until we are assured of our security We have met and we will maintain the right of self-defense against any future aggression,” he said.
‘Downplaying is good’
On Iran’s claim that the Israeli attack caused limited damage and that its defense systems were working, Mr. Azar said he was pleased that Tehran was downplaying it because it could be a signal that it does not tolerate aggression. No interest in continuing.
“Anyone who knows anything about military capabilities knows that the S-300 (air defense system) that the Iranians have is not capable of stopping the F-35s and F-16s of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Nor is it able to stop. Our pilots are avoiding hitting any target, so they can say whatever they want but the situation is very clear and the message has been given very clearly.”
