Iran fired over 300 rockets toward Israel on Saturday but President Isaac Herzog says his nation isn’t interested in fueling a war.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog says his nation isn’t “seeking war” with Iran following the Islamic Republic’s recent attack. But the barrage of missiles fired at them requires some kind of response.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies claim to have fired over 300 rockets and drones toward Israel on Saturday in retaliation for an
April 1 attack on its nondescript consular annex building in Damascus that adjoined Iran’s Embassy on the left. On the other side of the building was the Canadian Embassy, which also sustained some damage to its windows,
according to Canadian reports.
Israel said it and its allies intercepted 99 percent of the projectiles, and U.S. and Israeli officials claim there has been almost no damage to Israel’s infrastructure as a result. The interceptors used by Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and long-range Arrow Aerial Defense System cost tens of thousands of dollars each. President Biden is seeking congressional approval for
$4 billion in funding to support Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling defense systems.
In an April 14
interview with CNN, President Herzog says his country is not interested in sparking a broader conflict in the region with unnecessary acts of revenge. Instead, he says Israel is only “seeking peace” in the Middle East and will be acting “cool-handedly” going forward.
However, President Herzog also described Iran’s assault on April 13 as “a very aggressive and brutal attack, which looks like a declaration of war.” The Israeli war cabinet held a meeting on April 14 to discuss an appropriate response to the attack. Iran has said it will respond to any retaliation by Israel with a “decisive and much stronger response.”
U.S. President Joe Biden has reportedly
counseled caution over fears that retaliatory strikes against Iran could kick off a regional war between Israel’s allies and Iran’s proxies in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. The White House has also ruled out any direct participation by the United States in any Israeli response to Iran’s attack.
President Herzog says that the Israeli leadership does “understand the balance that is needed in this situation,” but the protection of the Israeli people is also a factor that needs to be considered.
“I think we are operating in a very focused way and a very responsible way, and I’m sure there will be a decision accordingly that will make sure that we protect and defend the people of Israel,” he said.
Herzog Says World Needs to Unite Against Iran Now
At this point in time, President Herzog thinks world governments need to unite and hold Iran, which he calls an “empire of evil which wants to eradicate all values of the free world,” to account sooner rather than later.“It’s about time the world stands up to them and says, ‘No, we won’t let you.’ Don’t, as President Biden said, ‘Don’t’. And therefore, because he says ‘don’t’ and we all say ‘don’t,’ that’s why they were met with a very strong response last night,” he said.
“But I think the world has to understand that this is another development in the war which Iran is waging against the free world and has to be met accordingly,” President Herzog added.
According to President Herzog, the rocket attack was part of a wider scheme by Iran to position itself as the victim so any future assaults on Israel could be framed as a defensive action.
“Iran has been holding war against us for decades with its proxies,” he said.
“Tehran has been spreading havoc, terror and instability all over the world, and especially in our region,” President Herzog added.
According to the Iranian dissident news organization Iran International, IRGC Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi (also spelt Reza Zahdi)—who was killed by Israel’s precision April 1 strike in Damascus—was honored in an April 3 statement by the Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces for his “strategic role in forming and strengthening the resistance front as well as in planning and executing the Al-Aqsa Storm [Oct. 7th].”
