We Are Working on Destroying Iran’s Ring of Fire: Israel Ambassador Reuven Azar- wna24

New Delhi: Israel Ambassador to India Reuven Azar said that Iran must be prevented from developing nuclear weapon capabilities, adding that Israel is also working on destroying the ‘ring of fire’ created by Tehran in its neighbourhood. 

In an exclusive interview with Republic Media Network Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami , Reuven Azar mentioned that Iran would have become a nuclear power long ago had Israel not made painstaking efforts to prevent them. 

“We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. If it were not for Israel, Iran would have become a nuclear power many decades ago. We remain committed to that, which means we are committing a huge amount of resources and intelligence to make sure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons,” the Israeli envoy said.

The Israeli diplomat further said that Iran’s plan to encircle Israel with the ‘Ring of Fire’ (strategy of surrounding Israel with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and foreign militias in Syria) has been kept in check, and efforts are underway to destroy them. 

“We are working towards destroying the ring of fire that Iran has been building around us. We had a lot of success at that, but it is still not over. Houthis in Yemen are firing at Israel at will. We fired back, but they have not changed their approach,” Israeli envoy said.

He further pointed out that Israel’s economy showed resilience even during the war with Hamas in Gaza. 

“Our economy is doing well; it did not shrink during the war; it grew. Despite the fact that we have all these threats, we have been able to flourish and have a good economy,” he said. 

JCPOA, which stands for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was an agreement signed between Iran and the P5+1 countries (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange of relief from sanctions. 

President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, claiming it failed to curtail Iran’s missile program and regional influence. 

It was found that Iran began ignoring limitations on its nuclear program a year later.