Ahead of feared strike, envoys abroad told to say Israel to defend itself ‘at any cost’
‘Iran and its proxies must be held solely accountable for their attacks,’ says Foreign Ministry document listing diplomatic talking points for use after anticipated attack
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
With Israel bracing for Hezbollah and Iran’s promised response to the recent killings of several high profile terror leaders, the Foreign Ministry has distributed a document to its ambassadors around the world preparing the ground for the potential Israeli response.
According to Channel 12 news, the text was formulated at several meetings involving Foreign Minister Israel Katz and other senior officials, and it makes plain that Israel will not allow an Iranian or Hezbollah attack to go unanswered.
The document, which casts Iran as the “head of the snake” and “the primary instigator of regional instability,” instructs Israeli diplomats stationed abroad to emphasize that “while Israel always prefers diplomatic solutions, it remains resolute in protecting its citizens at any cost, acting as any responsible, democratic, and law-abiding nation would under similar circumstances.”
“Iran is the primary instigator of regional instability, financing, training, arming, and directing its proxies, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen,” states a copy of the English-language document obtained by The Times of Israel.
“For the past ten months, Iran has led relentless terrorist attacks on Israel and its citizens, launching hundreds of missiles and drones from its territory and threatening further synchronized assaults from these proxies,” it adds, noting Hezbollah’s “sustained assault from Lebanon against Israel,” which “has involved over 6,500 rockets, more than 100 anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles, causing the deaths of 44 individuals and injuring dozens, including many civilians.”
This includes the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket strike in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, which “represented a red line that Israel could not ignore.”
“Israel’s response targeted a legitimate military objective, eliminating senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr, the organization’s top strategist, on July 30. This operation was conducted with exceptional precision to minimize civilian casualties,” Israel’s diplomats were instructed to emphasize.
“Israel asserts its right to defend its security and the safety of its citizens against Iranian terrorism,” the document continues, arguing that Tehran’s action also “threaten global stability” through its nuclear program, its supply of weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, and “attacks on maritime vessels in the Red Sea via Houthi proxies.”
“The international community must condemn the actions of Iran and its proxies and apply effective pressure to halt the escalation driven by Iran. Iran and its proxies must be held solely accountable for their attacks and their consequences,” Israeli ambassadors were instructed to say.
Hezbollah and Iran have both vowed to avenge the deaths of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, who died in an Israeli strike in Beirut last Tuesday night, and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, who was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran several hours later. Israel has not publicly taken nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.
Iran has threatened to “punish” Israel for the killing, warning its response would be harsher than its attack on April 13-14, when it fired 300 drones and missiles, almost all of which were intercepted, at Israel in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike in Syria that killed two generals in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israeli defense systems shooting down Iranian missiles over Jerusalem ???????? pic.twitter.com/rB9r5X06Qv
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) April 13, 2024
Despite Iran and Hezbollah’s threats, another large strike has not yet been launched, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah insisting that the uncertainty regarding the date of its response constitutes “part of the punishment” for Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last week that Israel “is at a very high level of readiness for any scenario, both defensively and offensively” and has promised to “exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any front.”
Officials in the US-led multinational coalition that is reportedly preparing to assist in repelling the expected Iranian attack have preemptively warned Israel not to respond too strongly to such an assault, according to a Tuesday report by national broadcaster Kan.
Meanwhile, the United States has been engaged in intense efforts to deescalate the conflict, with White House officials telling the Washington Post that diplomatic efforts to temper Iran’s retaliation might be working — after the US rushed its forces to the region and passed along messages to Iran warning of serious consequences for the new government of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
