Following Iran’s launch of a hundred drones and cruise missiles into Israeli territory on Saturday evening, the Ambassador of Israël in Switzerland Ifat Reshef spoke to Swiss French-language radio.
« In Israel, we have succeeded in countering an unprecedented attack by hundreds of drones, 99% ballistic missiles, but unfortunately a Bedouin, Israeli child is still fighting of his life.
Iran has crossed a red line […] Iran has tried to plan everything so that Israel will be attacked by different means: by drones, by missiles of different ranges and speeds so that it will be difficult to intercept them […].
To the question « Teheran talks of a justified retaliation to the Israeli strike that destroyed its consulate in Damascus 2 weeks ago: what do you say?«
H.R. Ifat Reshef replied: « I think Iran has a rather strange and peculiar definition of self-defense.
Make no mistake, Iran is the aggressor.
It’s Iran that has been attacking Israel for years, both directly and through the various intermediaries it maintains, trains and finances in the region, since October 7…the day after October 7, with the terrible terrorist attack committed by Hamas in Israel. We have been attacked on a daily basis by Hezbollah in Lebanon, in particular, who attack us every day, in Yemen by the Houtis, and by militias in Iraq.
So we’re seeing an ongoing attack on Iran by all its intermediaries…a red line was crossed on Saturday.
This isn’t the first time they’ve attacked us directly from Iranian territory, but the massive scale of this attack goes far beyond anything we’ve seen in the past, it’s not self-defense, it’s aggression, it’s an attack.«
To the question related to the fact that the positive side of this attack is that Israel’s allies are all tightened to her side:
« I think Israel deserves this solidarity, this support from the international community.
No country that has not experienced such an attack should be treated any differently.
I think what this attack has shown – if proof were needed – is the true face of Iran, the leading supporter of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.
It shows us all that we need to face up to this problem:
it’s not an Israeli problem, it’s not just a threat to us, to the Middle East, it’s about our allies, it’s about peace, it’s about security. The international community should stand with Israel to confront the problem of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, the terrorist unit, and use all diplomatic, legal and other means to put an end to this threat. »
To the question of whether Israel will heed the international community’s calls for « calm » or whether it plans to retaliate:
« We always listen to our American friends: Israel has no better partner than the USA.
The operation carried out on Saturday evening was a huge success for the Israeli air force and defense forces, but it was also made possible thanks to the help of our friends, allies and partners.
The USA and others deserve a special mention: we are grateful to them.
We always listen to Washington’s advice. In the end, it’s up to us to make the decisions: it’s the security of Israel and its citizens that are threatened again and again by the Iranians and their various intermediaries.
This was also our experience on October 7, when one of the intermediaries brutally attacked us in an unprecedented massacre.
The Israeli authorities, the IDF, have this responsibility, this duty to defend their citizens: we’ll do whatever it takes.
I don’t think any other country attacked on such a scale would have been asked to do nothing, to remain passive in the face of such an attack […].
Those responsible will make the decision they believe is best for our security, no one wants a global escalation…Israel at least not.
We are living through a difficult war in Gaza, we have to fight against Hezbollah and other Iranian intermediaries. Every day, tens of thousands of Israelis are displaced, unable to return to their communities in southern or northern Israel,
it’s a situation that no country can tolerate: there are constant attacks and threats.
This is not a situation we can tolerate[…].«
When the French-language media insists on the international community’s fear as to what will happen next, if a « de-escalation » is possible:
« Those in charge will make the decision they feel is best for our security, no one wants a global escalation…Israel at least not.
Israel has no interest in a general deterioration of the situation in the Middle East.
Israel is obliged to defend itself against its enemies in a difficult context with problematic players such as Iran and its intermediaries.
We can’t give them any incentive to keep fighting and attacking us.
We need to act as a deterrent.
We made it clear that if anyone attacked us, we’d fight back […].
We’ve been saying it for years now: Iran is a threat, not just to Israel, not just to the Middle East, but to world peace and security, and we don’t want to deal with this threat alone.
It is the responsibility of the entire international community, which has the tools to deal with such problems, such threats, such aggressors:
legal, diplomatic and political tools, sanctions, condemnations, ways of dealing with a pariah like Iran.
I would appeal to the international community to use all possible means against Iran, against the Guardian of the Revolution […], terrorist organizations and bodies to help us contain this problem.«
Switzerland condemns the Iranian attack. However, Berne calls on all parties to « exercise the utmost restraint ». What does you think of this decision?
« I congratulate Switzerland on its swift and firm condemnation of the Iranian aggression.
As for the call for « de-escalation »: I understand that everyone wants this, and so do we.
But to ask a country – which experienced both the October 7 massacre and Saturday night’s attack – to de-escalate, I think, is a little out of context. It’s the aggressors – Iran and its intermediaries – who should be working towards de-escalation.
There’s no way of rebalancing between these parties: one side is the aggressor, Iran, and the other is the target, the victims, Israel.
We must have our responsibility to ensure the safety of our population, that’s what every democracy, every responsible government does. »
To the question of whether Switzerland, Geneva, would have « sympathy » for Iran :
« It’s not for me to answer that question, but what I would say is that I think you see in different places too much tolerance towards Iranians and we see discriminatory measures taken against Israel and Israelis that don’t belong.
If we’re talking about an international city like Geneva, you know the headquarters of major institutions, the UN and other international institutions, the fact that we see that there are initiatives that say Israel is an ‘apartheid state’ and that publicly declare that they will not allow the participation of Israelis in various events: I think that’s very telling.«
Regarding the attack in Damascus:
« Israel has never taken responsibility for what happened in Damascus. So I can’t comment on that.
The people who were killed in this targeted attack were all terrorists and command staff, the external operational arm of the Revolutionary Guards, a terrorist organization.
As said before, Iran has been attacking Israel for years: Hezbollah, terrorist attacks all over the world and also in many places in Europe, Argentina and many other places too…
and since October 7…every day using its various intermediaries and Houtis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, in Iraq too.
We are being attacked, we are fighting back and we will continue to do so.[…]
I think the press understood the dilemmas.[…]
Let me ask you again:
what would another country have done if it had been attacked on such a scale?
what would have been the expectations? […]
Let me remind you that this is not the only dilemma we face: since October 7 […], 133 Israelis have been illegally detained in Gaza, men, women and children, the elderly, the sick, the wounded, the mistreated, living a living hell.
We want these people to be able to return and we’re fighting for it. We are providing massive humanitarian assistance to Gaza«
Coralie Schaffter
Photos source : Coralie Schaffter
Source : radio lamatinale, propos traduits par la radio.
Ambassador Ifat Reshef✨️Embassy Of Israel In Switzerland, Berne Ambassador Meirav Eilon✨️Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Geneva 7.4 2024-Geneva-6 months✨️130 hostages-Bringthemhomenow
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