Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, told Newsmax on Thursday night that the Jewish nation's strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets "is only the beginning" and that it will not be "a short operation."
"For years we said, and I told you in many interviews, that we will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear capabilities," Danon told "The Right Squad" and guest hosts Bianca de la Garza and Ed Henry. "And tonight, Israel launched a preemptive attack to make sure that Iran will not have the capabilities, not only the nuclear capabilities, but also the ballistic missiles that they used to attack Israel in the past.
"You know, what we have seen, it's only the beginning. It's not going to be a short operation."
Israel is on high alert anticipating retaliation by Iran after launching the attack that led to the deaths of Iran's military leadership and top nuclear scientists. At least four officials were killed, including Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"We know we will have to be in a special situation in Israel," Danon said. "We prepared the population tonight that we expect retaliation from Iran, but we are determined to make sure that Iran is not capable to threaten Israel, the U.S., and Western civilization."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly said Israel will face a "severe punishment" over its strikes on the country.
"You know, we believe them when they say they want to eliminate us," Danon said. "We don't take chances anymore."
The Trump administration had been offering an olive branch to Iran, talking with the Islamic republic in hope of reaching a deal on its nuclear program. The U.S. wants Iran to end its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. President Donald Trump has said he is determined not to allow Iran to get its hands on a nuclear weapon and signaled earlier this week he was losing hope that Iran would agree to end all uranium enrichment.
"That is the way of Iran for the last few decades," Danon said. "You know, the way of deception. They are talking, but at the same time, they are continuing with their nuclear program, and we reveal the new information about the intention to continue to build military capabilities, not only nuclear reactors for civilian usage, but actually for military usage. So, we realized that they are playing the game, they are buying time, and they want to get to the point of no return, that they obtain the capability to launch a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead against Israel, or against the other countries in the region.
"And that's why we decided that we cannot wait. A few months ago, they sent hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel, and probably they will try to do something similar in the next few days. Imagine what they [could] do if they would have actually gotten nuclear capabilities. We cannot wait for that. History has taught us, if you have a radical regime who threatens to eliminate the Jewish people, you don't just wait and see whether it's serious or not."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.