New Delhi: Israel’s envoy to India Reuven Azar on Monday addressed the ongoing Middle East conflicts, explaining the timing of Israel’s recent military action against Iran and its connection with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in February.He acknowledged that tensions around Israel were already high before Prime Minister Modi’s arrival, but that Tel Aviv waited until the Prime Minister left before seizing the “opportunity for action” against Iran.“It was clear that even before the arrival of Prime Minister Modi (February 25-26, 2026), the situation in our region was very unstable. When it came to the decision to strike, the opportunity for action came only after Prime Minister Modi left. The cabinet decision to approve the operation happened two days later.”
Regarding India’s position on the conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran, Azar said, “We will continue to engage with India. We have many common interests. Of course, India will pursue diplomatic efforts that are beneficial to India’s interests.”
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In light of the recent conflict, do you support Israeli military action against Iran?
He also commented on Iran’s retaliatory strikes, noting that Israel had anticipated such a move. “We are not surprised, we knew the Iranians had these capabilities. In fact, as a result of our efforts in June, we have degraded the Iranians’ capabilities and they are now doing much less damage to Israel than they were in June. They decided to escalate by attacking 12 countries in the region. I think it’s completely irresponsible…The pressure is on them and will continue to be on them because they are the aggressors. “Responding to disinformation about the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuAzar said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu is still alive. I saw him in person more than once when I was in Israel. This video in the cafe was not made up by artificial intelligence. There is a lot of false information in it.”Regarding Israel’s strategic goals in the conflict, Azar said: “The goals have not changed. We said from the beginning that we have three goals – to eliminate the nuclear threat, to eliminate the ballistic missile threat and to give the Iranian people the opportunity to embrace the future by reducing the capabilities of the oppressive forces in Iran… So, we are doing that. Our goals have not changed at all.”..We will ensure that after this war is over, the Iranian regime cannot reinvent these plans. “
