“We cannot accept a nuclear Iran, and we cannot accept an Iran that finances proxies of terror”
The defense minister and the IDF chief of staff, who sit on the same floor, have already been replaced during the current term, contrary to the natural order of things. But Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the inner security cabinet, will provide the only apparent continuity of authority until the end of the government’s term — in the minister’s office at the Defense Ministry and as the official responsible for settlement affairs.
Just before the government imposed a ban on interviews with cabinet ministers during wartime, we sat down with him for a wide-ranging conversation. Naturally, we begin with the issues of those days that are so relevant to this moment: the threats of annihilation coming from Iran.
We cannot accept a nuclear Iran. We cannot accept an Iran that produces missiles threatening the State of Israel, and we cannot accept an Iran that finances terror proxies that threaten us — and indeed, that threaten the peace of the entire Western world. Today the whole world sees that the coordination between us and the American administration is extremely close — between the prime minister and President Trump, and also between the systems themselves. The actions speak for themselves, and there is no need to elaborate.
I remind you that on the eve of the war, President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Secretary of State Rubio revealed to the American public that Iran is developing intercontinental hypersonic missiles that could threaten the United States as well. Already today, their missiles threaten American bases and interests in the region. So the Americans emphasize this, rightly, and you heard the president and everyone under him refer to it explicitly as one of the objectives. As I said, we are in very momentous days when actions speak loudly, and it is our duty to choose our words carefully.
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