Yoav Gallant stresses the importance of combatting Iran’s nuclear aspirations and its 'attempts to establish itself the Middle East'
At the tail end of his trip to Azerbaijan, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday stressed that the "fight does not stop" against Iran, stressing the importance of combatting the Islamic Republic's "attempts to establish itself in the Middle East."
While on his official visit to Azerbaijan, during which he spoke with the Muslim country’s President Ilham Aliyev and defense envoy, Gallant told military reporters that he brought up the importance of a coordinated fight against Iran’s nuclear aspirations and terror activities.
"Under the direction of the Supreme Leader, Iran has been leading a worldwide terror campaign, with an unprecedented scope, targeting Israelis and Jews around the world,” Gallant said.
“There are more than 50 attempted attacks in the past year, most of which have already reached a high level of maturity and were thwarted at the last minute. Thanks to our security system, thanks to close cooperation with many countries, and thanks to the understanding that Iran is a global threat, we prevented these attempts and saved human lives."
His historic visit to the South Caucasus nation came days after Baku said it arrested an Afghan national on suspicion of planning an attack on Israel’s embassy.
"This fight does not stop. This is one fight on the way to something much more important – preventing nuclear weapons from the irresponsible and dangerous hands of Iran,” the Israeli official stressed, also pointing to efforts in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a "terrorist military capability" there.
"We will continue to act as much as necessary to deter Iran and [Lebanon's] Hezbollah and crack the equations."
His two-day visit was the latest public expression of the rapidly expanding ties between Israel and Azerbaijan. According to Israel’s Defense Ministry, it focused on bolstering strategic ties in “diplomacy, security, and technology."
Gallant also referred to heightened tensions in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin, where Israeli forces recently conducted a large-scale counterterrorism operation.
"In Jenin, we detected an increase in the quality and scope of the means of warfare as a result of Iran's funding, dissemination of knowledge, and methods of warfare, in order to interfere with Israel's ability to control the area. We have proven that wherever there is terrorism, we will act in an offensive and proactive manner," he said.
"We acted with a concentrated effort to deal with the terrorist infrastructure and weapons available in the area. Now, the Palestinian Authority has an opportunity to do what is expected of it, however - wherever we have to act, we will not hesitate."
