Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar delivered remarks at the OSCE Council of Ministers Plenary today in Malta today (Thursday).
"Over the past year, the world has been exposed to the apparatus Iran has built across the Middle East. Iran has established a new phenomenon that the world has not encountered before—terror states," Sa'ar began.
"In Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen, terror states have been created by terror organizations," he said. "These are not merely terror organizations as we have known in the past. When these organizations control territory, govern civilians, and build significant military infrastructures, their strength is entirely different—similar to that of armies rather than organizations. Moreover, jihadist terror states cannot be deterred in the same way as 'conventional' states."
"Just prior to the start of the war, Hezbollah’s missile arsenal was larger than that of most countries in the world," Sa'ar continued.
He noted, "What the Houthis’ pirate terror state is inflicting on international trade and maritime transport in the Red Sea is unfathomable. It is hard to believe that the international community has yet to impose order and ensure free global trade against it."
In addition, "The terror kingdom Hamas built—both above and below ground—following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, is the one that launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023."
He asked his fellow ministers to "Please note: Israel has been attacked from all these fronts, as well as from Iran and Iraq—most are countries with which we do not even share a border. Israel has not initiated attacks on any front; we have only responded to them."
"What is common to all these terror proxies? All have been supported, funded, trained, equipped, and directed by Iran," he noted.
"Iran attacked Israel twice this year, in April and October, by launching hundreds of missiles. We responded to each attack. after the second attack, we struck back in a clever and decisive way," he said. "Iran is the head of the octopus, which is destabilizing the region and undermining peace and security throughout the Middle East. They openly declare and act upon their explicit goal to annihilate the State of Israel."
"If this is what they have done over the past year without the shield of nuclear weapons, imagine what they will do if, God forbid, they possess such weapons," Sa'ar warned.
According to Minister Sa'ar, "This is most likely the last opportunity the international community has to prevent such a catastrophic development, which threatens peace and security not only in our region but across the entire world."