Israel is targeting the production of Iranian weapons that could be sent to Russia for use against Ukraine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN in an interview aired on Wednesday.
“Israel... acts in ways that I will not itemize here against Iran’s weapons productions, which are used against Ukraine,” Netanyahu said.
Israel has already been active in working to thwart Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, but in his conversation with CNN, he said that such efforts were also directed toward preventing the flow of Iranian weapons to Russia.
“We are attacking not only Iran’s nuclear program – trying to thwart it – but also taking action against certain weapons development that Iran has and, Iran invariably exports them.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
He spoke days after The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Israel was behind an explosion at a weapons depot in the Iranian city of Isfahan, known to be a place where Iran has enriched uranium. It’s been unclear if the target of the explosion was Iran’s nuclear program, its missiles or its armed drone program. Iran sends both missiles and armed drones to Moscow.
Israel, as is its policy in such instances, has not confirmed or denied the report. Netanyahu also prevaricated when talking with CNN.
“I never talk about specific operations... and every time some explosion takes place in the Middle East, Israel is blamed or given responsibility. Sometimes we are, sometimes we’re not.”
Blinken wraps up visit to Jerusalem
He spoke with CNN just after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent two days in Israel meeting with top officials, including Netanyahu.
As he wrapped up his visit, Blinken publicly spoke about the tension between Washington and Jerusalem over its stance on Ukraine, urging Israel to do more to support Kyiv.
Blinken told reporters in Jerusalem, “Tehran’s deepening ties with Moscow and the sophisticated weaponry that they’re exchanging to enable one another’s aggression are among the many reasons that we’ve raised with Israel the importance of providing support for all of Ukraine’s needs – humanitarian, economic and security – as it defends its people against Russia’s brutal war.”
Israeli aid to Ukraine
Ukraine has repeatedly called on Israel to provide it with defensive weapons to thwart Russian missile and armed drone attacks. Kyiv is particularly interested in Israel’s lower-tech systems, which are cheaper than Ukraine’s current defense network. It has also pressed Israel to make good on its pledge from last fall to send an alert system that could help it more accurately identify where a missile might fall.
CNN asked Netanyahu if he would consider sending Ukraine an anti-drone and anti-missile system.
“Well, I’m certainly looking into it,” he said, marking the first time he has made a statement on the possibility since taking office in late December.
The prime minister noted that Israel had supported the US decision to transfer munitions it had stockpiled in Israel for use by the Jewish state should it be necessary during a military conflict. The weapons belonged to the US and the decision to transfer them to Ukraine was taken by the Biden administration.
Netanyahu clarified to CNN that he had not objected to the weapons transfer, which included 250,000 artillery shells.
Netanyahu has said that it was important for the Jewish state to support Ukraine while not taking actions that could spark a war with Moscow, given that Russia’s military is active in Syria, which borders Israel on its North.
During his last tenure, Netanyahu worked out a deconfliction agreement with Moscow that allows the IDF to conduct aerial raids against Iranian-based targets or the illegal flow of arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“What we have with Russia is a complex relationship because not very far from here, a few miles from here on our northern border with Syria, Israeli aircraft and Russian aircraft are flying within spitting distance of each other. Russia is militarily in Syria. Iran is trying to implant itself in Syria right next to our northern border. We keep them in check,” he said.
“Israel needs to have freedom of air” without risking a “Russian Israeli military confrontation,” Netanyahu added, noting that Israel has provided a significant amount of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Netanyahu would consider mediating between Russia and Ukraine
He also clarified that he would be willing to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine if both parties and the United States were interested in his playing that role.
Netanyahu explained that he was not pushing the idea of mediation given that the timing was not right for such a move.
During Blinken’s visit, Israel sought to underscore its support for Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stating he would visit the country in the near future.
On Wednesday morning, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and MK Ze’ev Elkin (National Unity) met with Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk.
After the meeting, Edelstein and Elkin announced that as the heads of the Knesset’s parliamentary friendship group with Ukraine, they planned to visit the war-torn country. Both men immigrated to Israel from Ukraine.
Edelstein said, “The Israel-Ukraine Friendship Association has gained new strength, given the terrible reality unfolding in the region. I have set two main goals for our activity – to provide humanitarian and civil assistance... and to deepen the relations between the countries, the parliaments and the peoples.”
Former minister Elkin said, “As a native of Ukraine and as someone whose relatives feel the horrors of the war, I see it as my duty to act with all the tools at my disposal to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as much as possible in this difficult time.”