In an interview with The Times of Israel on the sidelines of the Israeli American Council’s national summit in Florida, Barkat said that retaliatory fire on Lebanon — as Israel has done in the past — would not be sufficient on its own.
“Since Hezbollah is a proxy of Iran, we need to change the equation and say openly that if they fire rockets on Israel, it won’t lead to a Third Lebanon War, but rather a First Iran War; and our target must be Tehran,” he said.
Asked whether the same logic should be applied to rocket fire from Gaza, given that the enclave-ruling Hamas also receives funding from Iran, Barkat accepted the precept in principle but said he was more focused on Hezbollah and its stockpile of rockets.
“In order to prevent a Third Lebanon War, we need to prepare for the First Iran War,” reiterated the senior lawmaker in the Likud opposition party, saying his stance on Iran is more “aggressive” than that of the coalition.
While both Barkat and the current government oppose a return to the Iran nuclear deal, the Likud MK says Israel’s leadership must also be more assertive in combating Iran through conventional warfare.
Prior to arriving in Florida for the IAC confab, Barkat spent several days in Washington where, he said, he worked to explain his position to members of Congress. READ MORE
