ZCZC
BFF-52
IRAN-IRAQ-US-UNREST-ISRAEL
Netanyahu warns of ‘resounding blow’ if Iran attacks Israel
JERUSALEM, Jan 8, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned
Wednesday that Israel would strike a “resounding blow” if attacked by arch
foe Iran, as regional tensions soar after the US killing of a top Iranian
general.
The premier was speaking hours after Iran launched a salvo of missiles on
bases in Iraq used by the United States in retaliation for a US drone attack
last week that killed a top Iranian commander.
“Anyone who attacks us will receive a resounding blow,” Netanyahu said to
applause at a Jerusalem conference.
He described Major General Qasem Soleimani, the target of last week’s US
drone strike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, as a “terrorist-in-chief”.
“Qasem Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of countless innocent
people, he destabilised many countries for decades, he sowed fear and misery
and anguish and he was planning much worse,” Netanyahu said.
“He was the architect and driver of Iran’s campaign of terror throughout
the Middle East and the world,” he added, standing in front of US and Israeli
flags.
As commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm,
Soleimani was the mastermind of Tehran’s operations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
In a rare interview aired on Iranian state television in October, the
general said he was in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war to
oversee the conflict.
The Israeli premier praised US President Donald Trump for “acting swiftly,
boldly, and resolutely” in killing Soleimani.
– ‘Turbulent waters’ –
Despite the general’s assassination, Netanyahu said Iran’s regional
“destabilisation continues and the struggle is continuing apace”.
“The state of Israel is the stable anchor in these turbulent waters,” he
added.
While Israel and Iran remain sworn enemies, Netanyahu said his country was
increasingly “getting the recognition of the Arab world because we are
strong”.
The drone strike has put the United States and its allies on alert for
Tehran’s response to the killing.
A senior Iranian official on Monday warned the Israeli cities of Haifa and
Tel Aviv would be turned “to dust”, if Washington carried out further
military action in response to its retaliatory moves.
Israel did not react to the threat by Mohsen Rezai, head of the Expediency
Council state body, with analysts suggesting the government was trying to
keep a low profile.
“The Israeli government is staying quiet to the threat as a calculated
flexible strategic policy,” said Rachel Suissa, a research fellow at the
National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa.
While Israel has so far avoided being embroiled in the Iran-US dispute, the
Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv said Monday that
preparing for a “variety of scenarios” was advisable.
They include an “escalation of events up to a confrontation with the US, in
which Israel could also be involved.”
Netanyahu had cut short a foreign visit and security chiefs held emergency
talks after the killing of Soleimani.
BSS/AFP/FI/1900 hrs