Iran must be prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons capabilities, Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, said Sunday in an interview with Newsmax.
Akunis stressed that while Israel views the issue as critical, decisions regarding any potential US military action rest with President Donald Trump.
“Iran must be prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons capabilities," Akunis told Newsmax, adding that such decisions are “up to President Donald Trump, not Israel."
He added that Tehran has shown no indication that it is prepared to compromise in diplomatic talks.
“We can see that the Iranians, the evil empire, the ayatollahs, want to keep their nuclear weapons and their intercontinental missiles," he said.
Akunis further stated Israel believes Iran continues to retain nuclear-related capabilities, even after the operation carried out in June against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites.
“We know, according to our intelligence and your intelligence as well, there are still capabilities, unfortunately," he said, adding, “And the world, the Western world needs to know that the ayatollahs cannot hold the nuclear weapon or the intercontinental missiles in the future."
Asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned meeting with Trump this week, Akunis said Iran is expected to be a central topic, especially if talks between Washington and Tehran continue.
“I think that Iran will be on the table because the negotiations, negotiation between the United States and Iran, is supposed to continue as far as we know until now," he said.
Akunis also addressed the situation with Hamas, stating that while a ceasefire is in place between Israel and the terrorist organization, Hamas is not meeting the conditions for advancing to the next phase of an agreement.
“The second phase of the agreement is that they will demilitarize Gaza, no weapons," he said, noting that Hamas has continued its attacks against Israeli forces and still possesses significant weapons and tunnel infrastructure.
“They tried to attack our soldiers, soldiers yesterday, two days ago, last week," Akunis said. “So they still have their light weapon and even 60% of the tunnels that the Qataris built for them with their own money."
Akunis also commented on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying he believes antisemitic attacks have increased since Mamdani took office in January and added he expects the mayor to clearly recognize Israel as the Jewish state.
“He must recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people ... he cannot say, I'm not antisemitic, but I'm not recognizing the homeland of the Jewish people, period," Akunis said.