Jerusalem, March 22 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the recent missile attacks on Diego Garcia demonstrate that Iran has the capacity to reach deep into Europe and poses a danger to the entire world.
Netanyahu was visiting the southern Israeli city of Arad, which was targeted by Iranian missiles on Saturday evening, when he also said that his country and the US are fighting together on behalf of everyone.
“If you want proof that Iran endangers the entire world, the last 48 hours have provided it. In the last 48 hours, Iran targeted a civilian area. They are using this as a weapon of mass murder.”
“Fortunately, no one was killed, but that is due to luck, not their intention. Their intention is to murder civilians,” Netanyahu said.
Pointing out that Iran fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Diego Garcia, Netanyahu said, “That’s 4,000 kilometers. I have been warning about this all along. They now have the capacity to reach deep into Europe. They have already targeted European countries – Cyprus. They are putting everyone in their sights.”
For the past two decades, Israel has been arguing about Iran’s ballistic missile program, arguing that such weapons with nuclear capabilities would pose a grave threat not only to itself but also to Europe.
Iran fired missiles at the UK-US air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean on Saturday.
The Israeli prime minister also drew attention to Iran’s attack on Jerusalem, which is located next to the holy sites of the three monotheistic faiths – the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Al Aqsa Mosque – and said, “By a miracle, again, no one was hurt.”
“Those three sites were nevertheless the targets,” he said.
A fragment from a ballistic missile fired by Iran fell quite close to the Al Aqsa mosque and the Western Wall on Friday.
This was a second such attack during the recent escalation, when the old city of Jerusalem, home to the three holy sites, was targeted.
In an earlier attack, debris from the intercepted missile fell quite close to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, leaving marks of destruction on some nearby buildings.
Netanyahu also said that Iran is disrupting the maritime international route, the energy route, and “trying to blackmail the entire world.”
“What more proof do you need that this regime that threatens the entire world has to be stopped? Israel and the United States are working together for the entire world,” he claimed.
Calling upon the international community to come together in the fight against Iran, the Israeli leader said he is happy to see some of them beginning to move in that direction, but claimed that more is needed.
“(US) President Trump's call to have the international community confront this terrorist, fanatic regime of zealots, that is a call not only for the security of America and the security of Israel, it’s for the security of the entire world. And it’s time for them to act,” he asserted.
Responding to questions from reporters, Netanyahu said that Israel is responding to these attacks “with great force” but not targeting Iranian civilians.
“We have defined two clear goals. One is to completely break their nuclear programme, their missile programme, and their capacity to produce the components for both of these programmes. We are well on our way in achieving this,” the Israeli premier claimed.
“We have also set a goal of creating conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow this tyranny that has tormented them and made life miserable, and is making life miserable for the entire world. And I hope we achieve that too,” he reiterated.
The missile strike in Arad on Saturday evening left 115 people injured, with nine of them in serious condition, rescue services said.