Netanyahu spokesperson on Iran threat: ‘We don’t seek wars’ but will ‘do whatever it takes to defend ourselves’
Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, emphasized Israel is not seeking a war with Iran but will do "whatever it takes" to defend itself after Tehran vowed to revenge an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Syria.
An alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate building next to Tehran's embassy in Damascus, Syria, killed a senior commander overseeing Iranian military activity in Syria and Lebanon, along with another top general and five officers. Iranian Supreme Court Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge in a speech this week, stating they will be "slapped for these acts."
Heinrich, in an interview with NewsNation's "The Hill," echoed Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari, who said the strike on the consulate building was "not a diplomatic mission of any sort of kind."
"The building that was struck, according to our intelligence, was in fact a military base in disguise," she said. "Iran has a record of attacking embassies. Let me remind the viewers here — if it's the U.S. embassy in Tehran taking Americans hostage, if it's the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires killing many, many people, you're the big state of the United States, we're the small state in Israel."
"This is how they view us because we are standing in their way of expanding their sick ideology and the Islamic revolution around the world," she continued. "We will defend ourselves, whenever it takes, whatever it takes. We don't seek wars, but if somebody is hurting us, if somebody is threatening to hurt us further, we will do whatever it takes to defend ourselves."
Israel said last week it is on high alert amid the threats from Iran and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. would stand by Israel "in the face of these threats."
Israel's war with Palestinian militant group Hamas has lasted six months since the terrorist organization launched a surprise assault on the country that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 others were taken hostage and about 100 are believed to still be alive in captivity in Gaza.
Israel quickly launched a retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, which has been ruled by the Gaza Strip since 2007, in a vow to destroy Hamas. More than 32,700 people have died in Gaza, per the Health Ministry in the enclave, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant fighter casualties.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.