Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said the goal in the war against Iran is not to contain it but to win it, as the two countries continue to exchange strikes for a third day.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” host Martha Raddatz asked Leiter how Israel would avoid escalating and attempt to contain the war.
“Martha, the objective is not to contain the war,” Leiter responded. “The objective is to win the war.”
“Eighty years ago, we had a little man with a mustache running around Europe that nobody believed him when he said he was going to destroy the Jewish people,” he continued. “We lost 6 million. Now we’ve got a crazed new Hitler running around the Middle East saying he’s going to destroy us.
“We have to take him at face value… He’s got a concrete plan to destroy us.”
Her comments come after Israel and Iran continued to exchange airstrikes on Sunday. Another round of U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks was scheduled in Muscat, Oman, but was cancelled amid the fighting.
When Raddatz mentioned that Trump did not want Israel to strike Iran because it would “blow it,” Leiter said Trump was “congratulatory about our strike,” noting that he had been given a “heads-up” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When pushed further on whether Israel would accept a deal between Iran and Israel, Leiter said not unless Iran is willing to halt the nuclear program entirely.
“He wants the nuclear program in Iran to be halted in its entirety,” Leiter said. “He said it very clearly: dismantle the centrifuges, dismantle the infrastructure, and stop in total the enrichment of uranium. So, if that can be achieved through negotiation, so be it. We’ll be very happy. But it hasn’t been.”