BRITAIN will never be safe until Iran’s nuclear scheme is wiped out, Israel’s ambassador told The Sun.
Tzipi Hotovely said Israel is facing its “Churchill moment” and doing the UK a “huge service” by wiping out the rogue state’s efforts to create a nuke weapon.
Paul EdwardsTzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, told The Sun her country is doing Britain a ‘huge service’[/caption]
AlamyHeavy smoke and fire rises from an oil refinery in Tehran after an Israeli strike[/caption]
ReutersIsrael has continued to blitz Iran after launching operation Rising Lion last week[/caption]
She also rebuked Sir Keir Starmer‘s calls for de-escalation as she insisted Tel Aviv acted at the “last minute” to save their country from “nuclear holocaust”.
The PM – who chaired an emergency Cobra meeting today – has insisted that the UK wants to de-escalate the situation and resolve it through diplomacy.
But Amb. Hotovely said Iran had its chance for diplomacy during Donald Trump‘s 60-day deadline to thrash out a deal over its nuclear programme.
And she warned the UK would never be safe until Iran loses any chance of developing a nuke.
The diplomat said Israel is facing its “Churchill moment” as Netanyahu finds himself in a similar position as the British wartime leader did in 1940 – drawing the US into a war with its enemy.
Speaking to The Sun at its headquarters in London, she said: “When they’re calling for de-escalation, you need to understand that the only way to de-escalate the situation is by removing the threat.
“As long as Iran will race faster to have its ballistic missile programme that can destroy cities in Israel, if we will let them continue with that, cities in the UK won’t be safe.
“If we hadn’t stopped them now, we could have woken up one day in the morning having a headline in the news saying Iran reached nuclear capabilities and now it’s a nuclear country.
“And this is too late for everyone to operate.
“We were really operating in the last minute for us to save us from a nuclear holocaust.”
“And we’re doing a huge service to people in this country as well, because Iran for a long time has been an enemy for the UK as well.”
Arch-foes Israel and Iran have continued to trade deadly blows since Benjamin Netanyahu began operation Rising Lion last Friday.
But the conflict has now reached a critical juncture as Trump mulls whether to unleash US force on the rogue state.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed “irreparable damage” should the US join Israel’s blitz as the dictator rejected Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender.
Trump had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum to make a deal – a deadline that slipped by last week.
The US president could now soon pull the trigger and strike Iran as he issued a chilling threat: “We won’t take out Khamenei – at least not for now”.
Paul EdwardsIsrael’s ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely with The Sun’s Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) Katie Davis in London[/caption]
ReutersIran’s supreme leader has vowed ‘irreparable damage’ if the US gets involved[/caption]
EPAPartially collapsed residential building after Iranian ballistic missiles hit Bat Yam, central Israel[/caption]
Amb. Hotovely said Israel will not stop its operation until “the threat from Iran is removed”.
She also hailed Israeli citizens for their resilience invoking “the spirit of the Blitz”.
The diplomat said: “The Israeli people know they’re facing a very radical enemy like the British people were fighting in the Second World War and that they must get to the point where it’s being defeated.
The Iranians have proven they have no interest in diplomacy. They were just using diplomacy to keep on running their nuclear programme.
“And President Trump kind of lost patience with this type of behaviour. He said it clearly, I don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons.
“We gave a chance to diplomacy. We backed up the American diplomatic plan – 60 days expired.
“They didn’t come to the table. That’s what the Prime Minister said, they want to blow up the table, not to sit next to it.
“And we are now certain that once this military operation is over, the world, the Middle East, Israel, Europe, everyone will have a safer world.
“This is a war to end wars, not to begin wars.”
Trump is mulling whether to join the strikes against IranAP
Israel means business with strikes
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
TZIPI Hotovely’s powerful words today prove Israel means business.
When I was in Israel just a few months ago, top politicians and military brass were clear – the “head of the snake”, Iran, must be stopped.
So it came as little surprise when Israel pulled the trigger and blitzed Iran’s key nuke facilities last week.
Western nations have called for calm – but what is now clear is that Israel has no intention of waiting for diplomatic resolution anymore.
Trump has now fanned the flames of speculation that the US will join the military campaign as the door he appeared to leave open to nuclear negotiations starts to close.
But Israel appears set on ploughing on with its mission to fully disable Iran’s nuke scheme with or without the might of the US.
The endgame remains uncertain as sirens screech in both Israel and Iran as missiles hurtle through the sky.
What is clear though is the Middle East sits on the knife-edge of all-out war as the conflict threatens to drag in other nations.