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Israeli Ambassador: "Iran Is Not an 800-Pound Gorilla that Cannot Be Deterred"
(Washington Post) Souad Mekhennet - Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog told the Washington Post on Monday: "Our government was very clear about its concern regarding the possibility of a new deal with Iran, the reason being, we have no illusion about Iranian...nuclear ambitions, regional ambitions. We have no illusions about their anti-Western and anti-Israel ideology, and the fact that they've been working to build the tools, including nuclear tools, to realize their ambitions....So, for all of these reasons, we are very much concerned that this deal will not add stability but may be counterproductive." "In a few years, given this deal, all limitations on the Iranian nuclear program will be lifted. Iran would be able to enrich at will to any level of enrichment, with any number of centrifuges on an industrial scale, and be legitimized as a nuclear threshold state. This is intolerable to Israel, and I think it's also intolerable to some of our neighbors in the region....We are not going to sit idly by or be indifferent to a situation where Iran is legitimized as a nuclear threshold state." "Iran is a predator state. Iran is a destabilizing factor in the region, and no deal would put Iran in the box unless there is serious deterrence vis-a-vis Iran....I do believe that if you reinstate deterrence, you prevent war. I certainly believe that if you show assertiveness vis-a-vis Iran, as Israel has shown in the last few years in the region, you will deter Iran. Iran, with all due respect, is not an 800-pound gorilla that cannot be deterred." Regarding Ukraine, "from the beginning of this war, Israel unequivocally stated that it is against the Russian attack on Ukraine, against upsetting international norms, and against going against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine....I disagree with those who say that Israel hasn't decided about taking sides. That's absolutely not true....We have very clearly and have unequivocally taken sides, my government, myself, and all of Israel....We do everything we can to help the Ukrainian people."