Ya'alon: Iranian embassies are terror bases

Defense minister: Five South American countries with ties to the Iranian regime, which uses diplomatic mail of each embassy to smuggle weapons. The people who serve in the large embassies, many are intelligence agents and members of Revolutionary Guard.

Israel Hayom Staff

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon thinks Iran is trying to destroy Western culture | Photo credit: Dudi Vaaknin

Speaking to high school students in Dimona on Tuesday, Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon laid out his position on Iran.

"The Iranian regime is a radical Islamic-Shiite regime, whose goal is to defeat Western culture. This is not Iran against Israel. It's Iran against Western culture," he said.

"Not for nothing do we view the Iranian threat as the number-one threat not only against the state of Israel, but against stability in the region and the world," he said. "Their goal is not just to bother us with Hezbollah or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, it is to defeat Western culture."

"They don't just talk," Ya'alon said, "they also do. They are willing to pay a heavy price, to be under heavy sanctions, the main thing is to continue employing terror everywhere, wherever possible. They employed terror in South America, where they have a terror infrastructure, as well as in Asia, Africa and in our region."

"In South America there are five countries with ties to the Iranian regime. They use the diplomatic mail of each embassy to smuggle explosives and weapons.

The people who serve in the large embassies, many of them are intelligence agents and members of the Revolutionary Guard."

The defense minister also said that the Iranian regime must not obtain military nuclear capability and must be prevented from doing so at all costs. "Even if he does not immediately bomb anyone, it's obvious that with a nuclear umbrella he will become bolder," he said.

"If today he dares to challenge the United States in Afghanistan, or previously, in Iraq or other places, then if he has a nuclear umbrella he will dare to do more. Against the West as well. And against us. That's why he must not acquire such a capability.

In the course of his speech, the defense minister also delivered a zinger to the Obama administration. "We didn't want to attract undue attention, but we had to raise the topic in a serious way because we saw that world leaders, including in the United States, were sweeping the problem under the rug."

Regarding the agreement between Iran and Western powers, Ya'alon said, "We thought that this was an historic opportunity to apply pressure. We never said that the military option was our first one. But sometimes there is no choice. If you want peace, prepare for war -- people don't say that for nothing. It's not that we're in a hurry to use force, but it's not clear the Iranian bomb can be stopped through pressure. Unfortunately, the agreement they reached is very problematic."

At the end of his speech, Ya'alon delivered a veiled threat to Iran. "We will continue to track events, and we will take measured and responsible decisions in accordance. But let's not forget for a single minute: This is a threat, a significant threat, and an unconventional regime must not obtain unconventional capabilities."