Israel vowed last night to “cut off the head of the snake” and launch a military attack against Iran if the Tehran-backed terror group Hezbollah joined the war.
In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Nir Barkat, Israel’s economy minister, warned that Iran’s ayatollahs would “disappear from the face of the earth” if Hezbollah, its proxy terror group in Lebanon, attacked Israel.
His inflammatory comments raise the grim specter of a rapidly escalating regional conflict and precede an expected Israeli ground invasion of Gaza to “annihilate” Hamas.
Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are stationed along the territory’s borders, where Hamas – which is also backed by Iran – is holding around 200 hostages seized in the violent attack on southern Israel on October 7.
But fears are growing that Israel could be forced to fight on two fronts, as Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces delivered repeated fire on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon last week.
In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Nir Barkat (right, pictured next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center), Israel’s economy minister, warned that Iran’s ayatollahs would be “wiped off the face of the earth” if Hezbollah, your proxy terror group in Lebanon attacks Israel
His inflammatory comments raise the grim specter of a rapidly escalating regional conflict and precede an expected Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to “destroy” Hamas (pictured: a cloud of smoke rising from the Israeli bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip on October 21 ).
Archive image of fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah during a training exercise in Aaramta village in Jezzine district, southern Lebanon
In a direct threat to deter Tehran from further intervention, Mr. Barkat warned that not only would Israel “eliminate Hezbollah” if it believed the terror group was opening a “northern front,” but that “we are actually targeting Iran.” will take”.
“Iran’s plan is to attack Israel on all fronts.” If we find that they intend to target Israel, we will not only retaliate on those fronts, but we will move to the front of the queue, namely the Iran.
When our enemies attack, we will destroy them
“The Ayatollahs in Iran will not sleep well at night, we will make sure they pay a heavy price if, God forbid, they open the northern front.”
“Lebanon and Hezbollah will pay a high price, similar to what Hamas will pay.” But that is not enough.
“The very clear message is that we will also take action against the heads of state of Iran.” When will we do that? If we decide.
“Israel has a very clear message to our enemies.” We tell them: Look what is happening in Gaza – you will receive the same treatment if you attack us. “We will wipe you off the face of the earth.”
Barkat said: “The Ayatollahs of Iran will not sleep well at night, we will make sure that they pay a heavy price if, God forbid, they open the northern front” (Pictured: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)
In a direct threat to deter Tehran from further intervention, Mr. Barkat warned that not only would Israel “eliminate Hezbollah” if it believed the terror group was opening a “northern front,” but that “we are actually targeting Iran.” will take” (Image: Israeli soldiers near the border with Gaza)
Mr. Barkat’s uncompromising warning was:
- A deal to release 50 more hostages – following the release of an American mother and her daughter on Friday – fell through;
- Hardline Islamists took to the streets in London and called for an uprising of Muslim armies against Israel;
- There was chaos at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip but foreign passport holders were prevented from leaving;
- Young British Jewish women spoke of their determination to defend Israel after volunteering to fight in the War on Terror;
- Palestine said the death toll in Gaza reached 4,385 and 13,651 were injured; Israeli losses have exceeded 1,400.
Despite rising tensions, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there was “still room for politics and diplomacy even in this darkest hour” and said “good progress” had been made in opening up humanitarian access.
Despite rising tensions, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured left with Netanyahu, right) said there was “still room for politics and diplomacy even in this darkest hour” and that “good progress” had been made in opening up humanitarian access
“Too many people have already lost their lives following Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack.” “The loss of every innocent life weakens us all – regardless of faith or nationality,” Mr Sunak wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
With 20,000 fighters, Hezbollah is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, and Iran is said to give the Islamists hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
In 2006, a major war broke out between Israel and Lebanon after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli cities.
During his heated interview, Mr. Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem, said that Hezbollah “will not escalate without Iran’s orders,” adding: “In many ways… Hezbollah is Iran.”
He said Mr Sunak and US President Joe Biden, who both visited Israel last week, were clear that there was a “global alliance of evil” between Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
However, Secretary of State James Cleverly has warned that the dispute between Israel and Hamas must not trigger greater instability. At a peace summit in Cairo, he said: “We must work together to prevent the tragic situation in Gaza from becoming a regional conflict, because that is exactly what Hamas wants.”
Military experts warned last night that the Israeli minister’s comments risked a serious escalation that could push the region into all-out war.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former head of the British Army’s Joint Forces Command, warned: “If Israel attacks Iran, it is an act of war against Iran, so Iran will respond.”
“And when that happens, the Muslim world as a whole will feel that this has become a war between Israel and Islam, and where does that leave you?”
Military experts warned last night that the Israeli minister’s comments risked a serious escalation that could push the region into all-out war
Israel has been carrying out airstrikes for years against allegedly Iranian-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran has supported President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011 (pictured: Israeli soldiers on a Merkava tank on the border with Lebanon)
“In the Middle East there is a risk that events will spiral out of control and the world will end up in a place where no one wants to be.”
A larger conflict is exactly what Hamas wants
Michael Clarke, of the war studies department at King’s College London, said U.S. officials probably discouraged Israel from making the kind of threats that Mr. Barkat made.
He said: “The Iranians are talking hard, the Israelis are talking hard and there are rumors that the US has leaned very heavily on Tel Aviv not to make pre-emptive statements of the kind you just quoted because that would inflame the situation.” .”
“The Israelis say these things partly as an act of deterrence.” [But] “It is entirely plausible that the Iranians cannot control the forces acting on their behalf.”
In his interview, Mr. Barkat compared Israel’s situation to the London Blitz of 1940. He also warned that if Hamas is not “wiped out,” there will be copycat terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom.
Amid criticism of the BBC’s refusal to call Hamas terrorists, Mr Barkat, a former Israel Defense Forces paratrooper, said he had taken some of the broadcaster’s reporters to Kfar Aza, a kibbutz where more than 70 people were massacred.
“We witnessed the atrocities in the rooms and the smell of death that still lingers in the air.” It is more than a war zone, it is a hell zone. Can you describe what you saw? If it’s not a terrorist organization, what is?”
He also said Israeli officials had seen a video showing Hamas terrorists dousing a woman with gasoline and burning her alive in the street.
Israel has been carrying out airstrikes for years against targets it claims are linked to Iran in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011.
In September, dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets, spy planes and refueling planes flew thousands of kilometers from Israel to Greece and back to simulate a long-range attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities.