Israeli minister warns Iran: ‘We’ll do what is necessary to protect ourselves’

Israel “will do all that is necessary to protect itself” if attacked by Hezbollah or Iran, Erdan warned. 

By Jack Gold, World Israel News

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Gilad Erdan gave the keynote address on Sunday at Frankfurt’s Deutscher Israelkongress, Europe’s largest pro-Israel conference with over 3,000 attendees.

The speech took place as part of the minister’s visit to Germany and Italy, in which he focused on strengthening the campaign against BDS (anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) in Europe.

In his address, Erdan touched upon Israel’s most pressing geopolitical issues, including the threats from Iran and Gaza.

As long as the Iranian government uses expressions such as “Death to Israel” and displays them on its ballistic missiles, and Hezbollah continues to arm itself and threaten Israel with tens of thousands of missiles, Israel “will do all that is necessary to protect itself,” Erdan said.

He was referring to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani’s weekend speech, during which he called Israel “a cancerous tumor” and urged Germany to “take a more aggressive stance against the Iranian regime.”

“History has taught us that anti-Semitic threats from fanatical leaders, and exporters of terror who have hegemonic aspirations, must be taken seriously,” Erdan cautioned.

The world’s common goal should be to change the behavior of the Iranian regime, he stressed. “Forcing a change in Iran’s behavior is necessary for the safety of the people of Israel, the people of Iran and the people of Europe.”

Recently, the minister continued, Israel has revealed several Iranian attempts to carry out terror attacks on European soil, which Israel helped foil.

Erdan urges Germany to join US sanctions

“Changing the behavior of the regime is what the Iranian people want, that is what the Gulf States want, and I call on Germany to join the U.S. sanctions against Iran, and if Germany does so, other European countries will do the same,” he underscored.

Relating to the volatile security situation in Gaza, Erdan said that “Israel is working with Arab countries in the region to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

“Germany can play a significant role in bringing Israelis and Palestinians closer together, for example by promoting joint technological and economic projects,” he suggested. “This will improve the lives of millions of people in the region and lead to a more stable Middle East, which will strengthen the conditions for the existence of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”