Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed today (Tuesday) at Channel 14's security conference that American fighter jets are taking off from Israeli bases for strikes in Iran - even though the information was rejected during the current escalation by military censorship.
According to Katz, "The Iranians are firing at everything in the area, except the State of Israel, and they know that fighter jets are taking off from here, and also refueling from here, to attack Iran.".
Katz, who addressed a number of security issues - from the campaign against Iran and the situation in Gaza and Lebanon to the settlement in Judea and Samaria and the threat from Turkey - declared that Israel is prepared to attack Iran again, even on its own, made it clear that the IDF will not withdraw from the security zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and sent a direct warning to Erdogan: "Don't mess with us.".
Despite the significant achievements against Iran, the threats to Israel continue. Is it likely that a point will come when the interests of Israel and the United States will diverge?
""The Iranians are shooting at everything on the ground except for one country, the State of Israel, which they know is taking off from here to attack. There is deterrence. That doesn't mean what will happen tomorrow, it means what our response will be. I announced, the Prime Minister announced, we announced it in the clearest way, if Israel is shot at, we will attack with all our might. We prepared twice in Iran, ready to strike a third time, Blue and White. The IDF received instructions and prepared accordingly to be able to attack Iran alone. Now we are not alone, there is the United States, let's see what it does, whether it returns to the campaign, whether it does it in other ways.
""We are in a very good position vis-à-vis Iran, an excellent position. The great and arrogant Persian empire that threatened and acted to destroy Israel has collapsed. Okay, the head of the destruction program, Khamenei, has been destroyed, the entire military, political, scientific elite time after time, a huge military industry. And you ask if there is more to be done? Yes, there is more to be done, but we have achieved 80-90 percent.
""If Iran fires missiles at Israel, there will be a huge response. We are in a very good position. We have a high defense capability, we have a high attack capability, and Iran has no ability to defend against our attack capability.".
He added: "There is an economic issue, there is an energy issue, we really want to attack Iran's energy targets, the United States is not approving at the moment for the reason that Iran will harm neighboring countries, there will be a global oil crisis. From our perspective, we are ready to set it back 40 years.".
We are considering the United States and this is the essence of the conversation between great allies. Yes, you say there will be conflicts of interest and so on, that's fine in some things. The president's heart is in the right place and we have seen that every time there was a real decision contrary to the hopes of the left and all the other media, the president came to the right place. This is the situation right now, we need to complete the great achievements in ensuring that Iran cannot return to the nuclear program and not support its proxies. We stand strong in Lebanon.".
Is Israel on the road to additional Abraham Accords with Lebanon, Syria or Saudi Arabia?
""Israel's security posture and strength, led by the leadership and the performance of the IDF and its heroic soldiers, will also bring about political achievements, but in the right way, not through concessions, not by folding, but out of strength.".
How concerned should Israel be about the threat from Turkey?
""We have severely damaged the Iranian axis, but the emerging Muslim Brotherhood axis could be just as dangerous. Turkey, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood are working not only against Israel, but also against al-Sisi and against King Abdullah. We cannot allow Erdogan to strengthen Syria against us, and we know how to act in our own interests. At the moment, there is no violent conflict between Israel and Turkey, and there are even commercial relations.".
Could a conflict between Israel and Turkey break out in the future?
""We have no ambition to enter into a conflict, but Erdogan has ambitions, and he should not have any. Jerusalem is not Constantinople. We are here forever, Jerusalem is ours forever, and we know how to defend ourselves. I suggest to Erdogan not to mess with us and not to reach the situations that Iran has reached.".
