Israel's ambassador to Canada calls on G7 leaders to act on Iran threat

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OTTAWA — As leaders of the G7 nations gather in southern Alberta this week, Israel is calling on them to increase pressure on Iran.

In a weekend interview with the Toronto Sun, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, said a nuclear-armed Iran poses a dire threat to the entire world, not just Israel.

“The cost of this war, in terms of the home front, is huge,” he said.

“Iran has no regard for international law, they hit civilian infrastructure they can hit. That’s really concerning, because their heavy missiles cause enormous damage.”

On Friday, Israel attacked more than a dozen sites in Iran as part of “Operation Rising Lion.”

The strikes — the largest the Islamic theocracy has sustained since the Iran-Iraq war — were meant to surgically dismantle Iran’s nuclear weapons program and kill key members of its military.

That sparked retaliatory ballistic missile and drone barrages from Iran — many of which were intercepted by the American and Jordanian military — but saw several falling on civilian neighbourhoods across Tel Aviv and other areas deliberately targeted by Iran.

As of Monday, Israel’s death toll from the Iranian counterattack sits at 24, with nearly 600 wounded.

With Iran’s nuclear program developing delivery vehicles capable of reaching Europe or even North America, and with Iran supporting violent anti-Israel activists and protests across this continent and around the world, Moed said Iran is truly a global threat.

“This is why we all have to come together, and why we also call on the G7 to acknowledge this threat and make sure Iran does not attain its goals,” he said.

“It is incumbent on the international community to do whatever it takes to ensure Iran doesn’t execute its murderous plan against Israel and destabilize the region. This is the 11th hour.”

Arsen Ostrovsky, leading human rights attorney and CEO of the International Legal Forum, told the Sun that the short-term unrest is necessary to ensure long-term stability in the region.

“Israel’s strike was a necessary and lawful act of preemptive self-defense against a regime that has long threatened genocide, armed terror proxies across the region, and was on the verge of obtaining nuclear warheads,” he said.

“Far from destabilizing the region, Israel’s action directly confronts the greatest source of instability: the Iranian regime itself. By degrading Tehran’s nuclear and mass weapon capabilities, Israel has advanced the cause of long-term regional and global security.”

Ostrovsky said the G7 needs to present a clear and united front backing Israel.

“In striking Iran, Israel was not acting alone — but in defence of the West and the very nations and interests that the G7 represents,” he said.

“The leaders must unequivocally affirm Israel’s right to self-defence, declare that Iran will never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, provide Israel with whatever support it needs to finish the job, and impose coordinated sanctions to cripple Tehran’s nuclear and terror networks.”

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