Iran should “pay the price directly” in its capital Tehran if it carries out an anticipated retaliatory attack against Israel, says former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a move many fear could spark a wider war in the Middle East. East.
The world is waiting anxiously to see whether Iran follows through on its promises to attack Israel in response to an Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria last week that killed a top Guard Corps overseas Quds Force commander. Iranian Revolutionary and six other officers.
Such an attack would intensify the ongoing conflict in the Middle East sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the resulting Israeli military response in Gaza. The violence in Gaza has led to attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, groups that, like Hamas, are backed by the Iranian regime.
During an interview that will be broadcast in full on Sunday The west blockBennett said Israel has long fought against Iran through its proxies, including Hamas, which justified the Israeli attack on Syria.
“Iran is like an octopus of terror, whose head is in Tehran but then sends its tentacles to Lebanon with the terrorist organization Hezbollah, to Gaza with Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” he told host Mercedes Stephenson.
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When asked what he thought Israel should do in response to an attack by Iran, Bennett made it clear that the capital should be a target.
“If we are attacked – and we are already being attacked by their proxies – I definitely think Iran should pay the price directly in Tehran,” he said. “I also believe that the free world can and should engage in a gentle and sustained campaign to topple the Iranian regime.”
The United States has promised to support Israel in the event of an Iranian attack, which could include military assets.
Bennett said continuing an attack on Israel “would ultimately be detrimental to Iran.”
“Iran has so far enjoyed waging a unilateral war (with Israel),” he said. “We are in a boxing ring and one side hits the other and the other doesn’t respond.
“If they attack Israel directly, clearly Israel will retaliate. And what I have learned is that the (Iranian) regime is very incompetent, corrupt and terrible. People despise him. “They don’t like to suffer losses and they have a lot to lose.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Bennett defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and said he was “disappointed” by Canada’s position on the conflict.
Canada has called for an immediate ceasefire and urged Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. The House of Commons passed a non-binding motion last month with the support of a majority of Liberal MPs that said Canada should cease authorizing and transferring arms exports to Israel, something the government later followed through with.
“We expect friends to be with us not when it’s easy, but when it’s hard,” Bennett said.
Watch the full interview with Bennett at The west block on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
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