New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Amid the raging conflict in West Asia, Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, on Monday said “we are ready to stop hostilities if Iran changes course”, and asserted that Tel Aviv has consulted “diplomatic channels” in the last few days, including its partners the US and countries in the region.
Asked about Israel’s plans as the conflict entered its 17th day on Monday, Azar told reporters, “I don’t think a full-fledged terrestrial invasion is on the cards.” He also said that through the military action, “we’ve managed to degrade Iran’s launching capabilities” to a large extent.
“We are still hunting launchers… And the remainders of other military capabilities,” the envoy said.
“Right now, we are controlling the skies of Iran,” Azar told reporters, adding, “They (Iran) are in dire straits.” The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israel combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
In retaliation, Iran attacked the Gulf countries hosting American military bases and choked the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the US and Israel.
Asked if Iran’s retaliation has made Israel change its achievable targets, Azar said, “The aims of this operation haven’t changed a bit. Rather, we hope there will be a change in the regime (in Iran).” Azar also said if Iran decides to “change course”, and recognises Israel and engages with it diplomatically, the future can be “brighter”.
During the interaction, Azar was also asked if Israel considered a resolution of the conflict through diplomacy.
“In the past few days, Israel consulted diplomatic channels, including its partners, the US, as well as the countries in the region, and a few other nations with which it doesn’t have a diplomatic relationship.
“We are always for diplomacy. Unfortunately, we exhausted diplomacy to the extent that we had to take military action. We hope that diplomacy will be relevant again as a result of our military action,” he said.
“And we are ready to stop hostilities if Iran changes course,” he added.
The envoy was also asked whether Israel was prepared if the conflict turned into a long-drawn war.
Without much elaboration, Azar said, “We have the oxygen and the capabilities to continue this until we exhaust the options.” The conflict has impacted global aviation operations and oil prices, besides triggering a looming energy crisis.
Interacting with PTI later, Azar said, “We are pretty confident that we have been able to degrade the Iranian regime’s military machinery in a very substantive way.” Both the US and Israel have “taken out Iran’s naval forces, their air forces, and a lot of their production capabilities; they have zero production now”, he claimed.
“We’ve been able to degrade their ability to retaliate and to launch missiles. Now, they are launching about 10 barrages per day, much less than what they were able to do at the beginning of the war. As long as this continues, our only limitation is the weather.
“We’ll continue to control the skies of Iran and take care of our interests, and continue to degrade Iran’s capabilities,” Azar said.
“We are fully in sync with the US in this operation,” he added.
Asked if Iran’s retaliation came as a surprise, the envoy said, “We are not surprised. We knew that the Iranians had this capability, but fortunately, we were pretty successful in removing it.” On Iran attacking the Gulf countries, Azar said it is “very unfortunate” and alleged that Iranians “decided to use terror, and to extort their friends”.
“Iran has launched attacks against the Gulf countries, which were supposedly their friends, and tried to threaten other countries with a lack of supplies. Fortunately, thanks to India’s diplomatic efforts, two LPG ships have moved through, and I’m sure that India is going to use its best diplomatic talent, which I know it has, to safeguard its interests,” Azar said.
The envoy also said that Israel “always prefers diplomacy”, and had used the channel trying to “convince the Iranian leadership to change course”.
“But they (Iran) didn’t change their position. So, we had no choice but to use the military,” he claimed. PTI KND ARI ARI
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