„Die ‚Achse des Bösen’ existiert immer noch”

„Looking at the big map, there’s no doubt – Iran is the enemy. It’s the source of ideological and terrorist authority. It’s the main actors working against us all the time, in every arena. Iran is working against us in five areas: in Gaza, by supporting Hamas and [other] terrorist organizations, mainly the Islamic Jihad; through Hezbollah and building Hezbollah up; in Judea and Samaria, by attempts to operate terrorist cells; through ongoing attempts to enlist Israeli Arabs who will take action against the nation; and through terrorist attacks abroad, which are carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah against Israeli and Jewish targets.

These are all methods of ongoing warfare, of a mechanism of attrition designed to keep Israel busy, waste its time and spill its blood, so that in the meantime they can continue working toward nuclear arms. Their desire for [nuclear weapons] remains, even if there are ups and downs and breaks on their way to their goal. They have already made declarations about how they intend to use [nukes].

[Former U.S.] President George W. Bush characterized these regional threats as the ‚axis of evil’ – Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut. This axis is very dangerous to Israel. Thanks to various processes, the Iranian-Shiite majority is slowing taking control of Iraq. Now there’s a battle raging over Syria, where there are attempts to reach Iranian-Shiite hegemony under Hezbollah, and that’s a process that should worry us. We will not allow a reality in which Iran operates against us on expanded borders, through other players. The other threats, which the world is battling, are in my eyes temporary. In the end, the world will defeat the Islamic State.”

 (Interview mit dem israelischen Minister und ehemaligen Kommandeur des Südkommandos Joaw Galant: „We won’t allow Iran to control Syria“)