Latest news with #OffTheCuff
The Print
a day ago
- Politics
- The Print
We're not in ‘business' of regime change or redrawing maps, says Israeli ambassador to India
Gurugram: Israel is not in the 'business' of changing regimes or redrawing maps in West Asia like Turkey or Iran, said Reuven Azar, the Israeli ambassador to India at ThePrint's Off The Cuff Monday. 'We are not in the business of redrawing the map of the Middle East. Israel is pretty different from other powers in the region. And you could see that very clearly following the turmoil that started in 2011, what was called the Arab Spring. You had Arab countries that collapsed or that entered into a huge turmoil. Israel didn't interfere there to try to determine their political future,' Azar said, in conversation with Shekhar Gupta, ThePrint's Editor-in-Chief at The Quorum, Gurugram. Azar added: 'There were other countries that did interfere, like for example, Iran and Turkey. So we are in the business of trying to serve our interests. And as much as we are concerned with dealing with our threats, we are trying to also grasp opportunity.' The 'opportunity' indicated by the Israeli envoy is the Abraham Accords—a series of treaties which normalised ties between Tel Aviv and a number of countries in the region, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. The Accords, which were signed between September 2020 and January 2021, were one of the most hard-won geopolitical battles in West Asia and North Africa this decade. They build on the Camp David Accords, which saw Israel and Egypt agree to peace at the end of the 1970s and the peace treaty between Jordan and Tel Aviv, signed in 1994. The agreements aimed to normalise diplomatic ties between Israel and the aforementioned states, eventually creating common interests between countries that for over seven decades had had none. 'This has nothing to do with redrawing maps. It's just a matter of fulfilling the common interest we have with those countries that are more pragmatic in our region and are interested like us to promote stability and connectivity,' Azar said, explaining the Accords. The Israeli envoy, when asked about why Tel Aviv did not push for regime change in Iran, made it clear that Israel has no capabilities to drag its 'conscript' army to impose such changes. Tel Aviv launched Operation Rising Lion on 13 June, striking at key Iranian nuclear facilities and military personnel. Within days at least 10 senior Iranian generals and a number of nuclear scientists were killed by Israel's military operation. The US joined in the strikes on 21 June, through Operation Midnight Hammer, which struck Tehran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. 'I don't remember any case in which there was regime change from the air, okay? So nobody was planning to invade Iran or to take care of a nation of 100 million people. And therefore (Israel), as a democracy, which, you know, is accountable to its people, that actually has a conscription army, we are not in the business of, you know, dragging our people to endless wars to change the political landscape in other countries,' said Azar. The ambassador added: 'We are not capable of doing it. We don't have the will, okay? …and of course, you know, I would be very happy if there would be a regime change in Iran, but it depends on the Iranian people.' In the 12-day war, Israel gained air superiority over Iran. Tehran, in its retaliatory operation—True Promise 3—sought to strike at Israel using ballistic missiles. The Israeli air defence systems were able to intercept roughly 90 percent of Iran's missiles. However, the use of ballistic missiles by Iran saw a number of buildings hit and 29 Israelis killed, while over 3,000 were injured. According to Iranian officials, 935 people were killed by Israeli air strikes in the West Asian nation. The air superiority gained by Israel allowed the US' B2 stealth bombers to enter Iranian airspace unhindered and drop 'bunker buster' bombs at Fordow and Natanz. Fordow, Iran's most fortified uranium enrichment site was buried deep underground. The US has claimed to have 'completely obliterated' the site. At least two such bombs were also used at Natanz. However, any assessments of the true damage to the nuclear programme of Iran will take time to be reported. 'What is important in our perspective is that… the fact that Iran will continue to possess fissile material that is enriched to a high level doesn't mean that they will be able to reconstitute their nuclear plan that easily, because we have destroyed their centrifuges factory,' Azar said. The Israeli ambassador added: 'We have hit dozens of sites that were related to the nuclear programme and we continue to have penetration into the Iranian system and the resolve to deal with the situation in which Iran re-embarks on a military nuclear plan.' (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Pakistan & North Korea are the 2 countries involved in Nuclear proliferation, says Israeli envoy to India
The Print
a day ago
- Business
- The Print
Trump is parent who took back Ferrari from kid—Israel's India envoy on US subsidising Europe's security
Gurugram: The US is 'fed up' of subsidising Europe's security, and is now correcting the situation, like a father who gifts a Ferrari to his child, and then wants it back, said Reuven Azar, Israel's Ambassador to India at ThePrint's Off The Cuff Monday. 'For many years, many European countries thought that war was something of the past when it came to Europe. It would never come back. And therefore, they didn't invest anything in their armed forces. Now they have come to the conclusion that they were wrong and that there was a huge gap between their ambitions when it came to the expansion of the European project and the capability to back it up with military power. And the Americans got fed up,' Azar said while in conversation with Shekhar Gupta, ThePrint's Editor-in-Chief, at The Quorum in Gurugram. The Israeli Ambassador added: 'They (the US) got to a situation where there was preferential treatment on trade to some countries with a combination of subsidising their security and it was actually making them bankrupt. What this administration is trying to do is to correct the system.' The US under President Donald J. Trump has sought greater investment in defence spending by European allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The members of the military alliance, consisting of 32 nations at its most recent summit last week, have agreed to achieve 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defence spending by 2035. Trump has long railed against the lack of investment in defence by Europeans. Almost two decades earlier in 2006, members of NATO arrived at a consensus to spend at least 2 percent of their annual budget on defence. In 2014, the member-states agreed to commit to the 2 percent target. Despite agreeing to the commitment in 2014, at least eight NATO members, including Spain, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Portugal and Croatia have yet to touch the 2 percent target. 'There's a story about this guy that gave his son a Ferrari. One day, he decided to take the Ferrari. And the son was cursing him, saying, you don't care about me, right? So now, America is taking back the Ferrari. You have to decide what you are going to do,' said Azar. In the build-up to the NATO Summit at the Hague last week, Secretary-General Mark Rutte described Trump as a 'daddy' while the two were discussing the situation in West Asia, between Iran and Israel. The Europeans unveiled the red carpet for Trump at The Hague as an effort to keep the US President involved in NATO. He has in the past mulled over exiting the bloc and has even been unclear whether he would defend a member-state under attack. 5 percent on defence—the new normal? Azar was asked whether the 5 percent standard agreed to by NATO has become the new standard for defence spending across the globe. The Israeli ambassador pointed out that before 7 October 2023, Israel was already spending 6 percent of its GDP on defence. 'Well, it depends on the threats. In our case (Israel), we were investing almost 6 percent of our GDP before the war. Hopefully we'll be able to go back to these numbers in the future, especially if our economy continues growing and it seems that it is going to continue growing. But there are countries that are not threatened and therefore they don't need to invest anything,' Azar said. The Israeli ambassador added: 'What our Prime Minister used to say is, don't bother dealing with the percentage. Just make sure your economy grows.' Investing in a nation's defence, according to Azar, would have a positive impact on the economy by giving investors confidence to invest in the country. Coupling this investment with liberalisation policies would help economies innovate, the ambassador added. 'Build your defence and liberalise your markets. Because the stronger your defence, the more people will have the confidence to come and invest in your country. And the more you liberalise your market, the more people will feel free to be entrepreneurs,' said Azar. The Israeli ambassador added: 'We need more entrepreneurs. We have to have some ambassadors and people who get salaries from the government. But, you know, at the end of the day, the country is going to prosper thanks to the entrepreneurs.' (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: We're not in 'business' of regime change or redrawing maps, says Israeli ambassador to India
