“Iran will pay a price,” says Israel envoy to India Reuven Azar

Israel’s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, said that the country successfully defended itself against a barrage of ballistic missiles launched by Iran on Tuesday, adding that Iran would face consequences of this attack.

“Our PM was very clear that Iran will pay a price. We have to think about it thoroughly–can we have a situation where rouge states like Iran attack with a barrage of ballistic missiles? If this goes unchecked, then consequences will be terrible for the region…If nobody is going to stop Iran, then it is our responsibility,” said the envoy.

While speaking to ANI, Ambassador Azar attributed Israel’s success in defending the rocket barage to two key factors, Israel’s advanced air defence systems and its strong partnerships with the United States and neighbouring countries.

“We were pretty successful because of two reasons. First of all, we have probably the best air defence systems in the world and we have been able to thwart most of these missiles. We only left unattacked those who fell in open areas,” he said

“And the second reason is that we have a very good partnership with the United States, for which we are very thankful, and with our neighbours that have been also helping us to thwart these ballistic missiles that are flying over their territory,” he added.

Further, Azar emphasised that the countries of the Middle East remain ‘determined’ to protect themselves and confront Iran’s blatant violation of international law.

“So we are determined, the countries of the Middle East, to do what we can defend ourselves from and to confront this flagrant violation of international law,” he said to ANI.

The comments come after Iran launched approximately 200 ballistic missiles at targets in Israel on October 1 in response to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week and following the July 31 assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Al Jazeera reported.

The salvo of 180 projectiles caused no casualties as most missiles were intercepted, according to Israeli army reports. Iran claimed it was targeting three military bases in the Tel Aviv area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately pledged to retaliate and said Iran “made a big mistake and will pay”, as the US rallied behind its close ally, as per Al Jazeera

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” President Joe Biden said at the White House, adding that he was discussing a response to the attack.

The international community continues to monitor the situation closely, with many nations condemning Iran’s actions.