Israel expects UK, France to help hit Iran if Tehran attacks, Katz tells counterparts
English-language Foreign Ministry statement following meeting between top diplomats tones down message from Hebrew version; British foreign secretary: Mideast at ‘dangerous moment’
Israel expects Britain, France and other US allies to join it in taking military action against Iran should the Islamic Republic launch a promised assault on Israel to avenge the killing of Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Friday.
Katz made the comments as he met with the British and French foreign ministers making a joint trip to Israel, as international efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza intensified, amid heightened fears in Israel that Iran and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon could attack Israel in retaliation for last month’s killings of Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Katz told British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné “that Israel expects France and Britain to publicly clarify to Iran that it is unacceptable for it to attack Israel and that if Iran attacks, the US-led coalition will join Israel not only in defense but also in an attack against significant targets in Iran,” his office said in a Hebrew-language statement after the meeting.
“Israel cannot not respond strongly to attacks on it,” he added.
An English-language statement from the meeting, which was held in English, sent out by the Foreign Ministry softened Katz’s message and omitted the sentence about needing to retaliate.
“I thanked them for their support of Israel and made it clear that the right way to deter Iran and prevent war is by announcing that if Iran attacks, they will stand with Israel not only in defense but also in striking targets in Iran.”
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly attended the meeting as well.
The UK and France were both part of an international coalition that helped defend Israel in mid-April when Iran launched hundreds of missiles into Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel respond with a strike of its own on Iran reportedly led to tensions between Jerusalem and Western capitals, which see the tit-for-tats as liable to snowball into a full-blown conflict.
“This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East,” Lammy said following the meeting with Katz. “The risk of the situation spiraling out of control is rising. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region.”
According to the Hebrew statement Friday, Katz also told the visiting top diplomats that Israel is ready for a hostage deal in Gaza but that Hamas is likely to up its demands during Friday’s talks in Doha “and await an Iranian attack as an alternative to talks.”
The meeting came as mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar were wrapping up two days of talks in Doha aimed at hammering out a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and free hostages held there since October 7.
Lammy said Israeli officials told them they were hoping they were on the verge of sealing a deal.
“As we head now to 315 days of war, the time for a deal for those hostages to be returned, for aid to get in the quantities that are necessary in Gaza and for the fighting to stop is now,” Lammy said.
Séjourné called any action to destabilize negotiations unacceptable. He and Lammy had sent very clear messages to all parties that this was a key moment “because it could lead to peace or war,” he said.
In a statement Thursday before traveling to Israel, the British top diplomat urged the UK’s Middle Eastern partners to “choose peace” at this “crucial moment for global stability.”
“The coming hours and days could define the future of the Middle East,” Lammy said, reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, adding that his country will use “every diplomatic lever” to achieve that objective.
“It’s never too late for peace,” Séjourné said. “We must at all costs avoid a regional war, which would have terrible consequences.”
War broke out on October 7 when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251. It is believed that 111 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 39 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 24 hostages have also been recovered, including three abductees mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said Friday that 40,005 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August, and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 332.
