US President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an Iranian missile strike on US forces in Iraq, the White House said.
A brief statement said the two leaders discussed “critical bilateral and regional issues,” giving no further details. There was no confirmation or comment from Israel.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu warned Iran against attacking Israel in response to the American killing last week of senior military commander Qassem Soleimani and congratulated Trump for ordering the strike.
“We’re standing steadfast against those who seek our lives. We’re standing with determination and with force. Whoever tries to attack us will receive a crushing blow in return,” he declared at a conference in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu was speaking after Iran fired over a dozen missiles at US bases in Iraq. Iran claimed 80 US troops were killed in the strikes, and warned that it could strike next at Israel; the US said there were no casualties.
In recent days a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that Tel Aviv could also be targeted, while a former head of the IRGC threatened to turn Israeli cities “to dust” if the US attacks targets in Iran.
“Qassem Soleimani was responsible for the death of countless innocent people,” Netanyahu said. “He destabilized many countries. For decades, he sowed fear and misery and anguish. And he was planning much worse.
“In the Middle East, no day is like any other. The regional upheaval continues. The struggle between extremists and moderates continues unabated,” the prime minister went on.
“On one side is radical Islam led by Iran, which seeks to grasp large sections of the area by means of murderous terrorism, and to grasp, strangle and eliminate us, because they understand that the strongest force of Western culture is here, in the State of Israel. They understand this very well.”
“This camp well understands the campaign for existence, for life and for the future,” Netanyahu said. “The State of Israel is the anchor of stability in these stormy waters. The challenges that we are dealing with are not lessening — on the contrary.”
No comments:
Post a Comment