Thursday, February 21, 2019

Iran: Cannot Rule Out Possibility Of War With Israel


Iran says it cannot rule out possibility of war with Israel


Iran’s foreign minister accused Israel of “adventurism” with its campaign of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, and said he could not rule out the possibility that they could lead to a war between the Mideast arch-foes.
Speaking to the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Mohammad Javad Zarif said Israel constantly violated Syrian and Lebanese sovereignty, while Iran was in Syria at the invitation of the Assad government.
Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria in a bid to prevent Iran from entrenching itself in the country and transferring advanced weapons to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.


Zarif said the Israeli strikes could lead to war.
“There is adventurism on Israel’s side, and adventurism is always dangerous,” Zarif told the newspaper in an interview to be published on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Asked if he saw an emerging military conflict between Iran and Israel, Zarif said, “I do not, but we cannot exclude the possibility.”
On Sunday, Zarif had warned that Jerusalem is “looking for war” and that the behavior of Israel and the United States was increasing the prospects of a conflict.
“Certainly, some people are looking for war… Israel,”  Zarif told participants at the Munich Security Conference, according to the Reuters news agency.

Zarif said that Israel was violating international law by carrying out bombing raids in Syria, and called on European powers and the US to hold Israel to account for its actions.
“The risk [of war] is great. The risk will be even greater if you continue to turn a blind eye to severe violations of international law.
“Israeli behavior is putting international law on the shelf, US behavior is putting international law on the shelf,” he said.
The Iranian regime views Israel and the US as its political and spiritual arch-enemies, and its leaders regularly vow to destroy the Jewish state.

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