JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday signalled his country could strike Iranian targets in Iraq if they threatened Israel, saying it would hit wherever necessary.
“We will face any Iranian threat, no matter where it comes from,” Lieberman said in response to a question about reports that Iran had provided ballistic missiles to allied Shiite militias in Iraq in recent months.
“Our freedom of action is total,” he told a conference organized by an Israeli media company.
Israel has pledged to stop Iran, its main enemy, from entrenching itself militarily in neighboring Syria, where Tehran is backing President Bashar Assad’s regime in his country’s civil war.
A series of recent strikes in Syria that have killed Iranians has been attributed to Israel.
Israel also acknowledges carrying out dozens of strikes in Syria against what it says were advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite group.
Asked about the possibility of Israel hitting Iranian military positions in “Iraq or Tehran,” Lieberman said: “We do not limit ourselves to Syrian territory alone. It must be clear.”
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with US special representative for Syria engagement James Jeffrey on the war-ravaged country and Iran.
Israel does not rule out striking Iranian targets in Iraq
Israel does not rule out striking Iranian targets in Iraq
- “We will face any Iranian threat, no matter where it comes from,” Lieberman said
- Asked about the possibility of Israel hitting Iranian military positions in “Iraq or Tehran,” Lieberman said: “We do not limit ourselves to Syrian territory alone"
UN chief warns Israel’s actions in West Bank are eroding prospects for a two-state solution
- Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ‘gravely concerned’ by new rules that tighten Israeli control of the territory and make it easier for Israeli settlers to buy land there
- He calls on Israel to reverse the decision, urges all parties to safeguard what he describes as the only viable path to lasting peace: a negotiated two-state solution
NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that the approval by Israeli authorities of new administrative and enforcement measures in the West Bank undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.
Israel’s Security Cabinet this weekend approved new rules designed to strengthen control over the occupied West Bank, make it easier for Israeli settlers to buy land there and give Israeli officials stronger powers to enforce laws on Palestinians.
Guterres said he was “gravely concerned” by the reported decision to authorize the new measures in Areas A and B of the West Bank, warning that the current trajectory of developments on the ground was eroding the possibility of a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.
He reiterated that all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, lack legal validity and constitute a “flagrant violation of international law.”
Such actions, including Israel’s continuing presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, were destabilizing and unlawful, he added, as recalled by the International Court of Justice.
Guterres called on Israeli authorities to reverse their decision and urged all parties to safeguard what he described as the only viable path to lasting peace: a negotiated two-state solution in line with international law and Security Council resolutions.
Israel has rejected international criticism of its settlement policies and disputes claims that they violate international law.
