Israel Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon Talks Israel's Attack on Iran

Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, says the attacks against Iran will continue. Danon says the goal is to eliminate Iran's nuclear capability and to stop Iran from producing ballistic missiles. He says Iran was preparing to attack Israel again with missiles and Israel could not let that happen. Danon spoke with Bloomberg's Jonathan Ferro and Annmarie Hordern.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Israel launching another round of attacks on several locations in Araun.
President Trump republicly telling ABC QUO, I think it's been
excellent and there's more to come. Joining us now to
discuss is Danny Toon on, the Israeli Ambassador to the
United Nations Ambasadoric and Monic.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Thank you for having me journal. Thank you for.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Sharing some of your time with this because I'm sure
you've been exceptionally busy. Let's just talk about where things
stand right now. Is this operation ongoing and ultimately one
of the gals.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Whether the growth are very clear.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
We want to be sure that they want will not
put the threat not only against but against the entire
Western civilization. And specifically, we have two main goals to
eliminate the nuclear capabilities and to stop the production of
baddistic missiles and len me laborators at You know, it's
not only the nuclear weapons.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
We all know about the you.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
And you enrichment and about that they're getting very close
to put a bomb together, but to look at what
they're doing with the ballistic missiles. They want to they
wanted to be at the same level of the US
and Russia. In terms of the quantity and the technology
of the ballistic missiles, we couldn't allow it to happen.
We got intel about their intentions to create another attack

(01:13):
against Israel. You know, we all remember what happened on
October seventh, but this time they wanted to use thousands
of ballistic missiles and invade into it well with their proxies.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
So it was a preemptive attack.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
So we will continue until we will be sure that
we eliminated those two capabilities.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
How share rank you right now?

Speaker 3 (01:32):
Well, we will.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Have to wait and see the result of the attack
of last night. It was a major attack. More than
two hundred aircraft participated in the attack, many targets, many
senior military officials were eliminated last night, and we will
continue until we know that one is in the point

(01:54):
that they cannot continue with their efforts.

Speaker 4 (01:55):
Including the IRGC General commander. Is there an intent for
regime changing around from Israel, Well.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
That's not our goal. You know, we are concerned about
the threats to it. Well for the Iranian people, I
wish they would have a different regime.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
You know, we saw what happened in i Onan.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
The people are suffering there, that have no way hitting
the winter, no ac in the summer, that are suffering there.
But our goals is to eliminate the capabilities of A
one so they will not be able to threaten us.
And then might look at the map. We have no
border with A one. It takes us hours to fly
there in order to attack those facilities. But still they
spend billions of dollars to create threats against Israel.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
This nuclear enrichment is deep into the mountains. How long
will that victory actually take? And it's called Rising Lion?

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Why is that?

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Well, you know, every time we pick a name when
we have a military operation, sometimes the computer is doing
it for us, so there is no real meaning for
the world of the operation. But I would say that
I A published recently that enough urvenium to create not
only one bomb, multiple bombs, So it's only it was

(03:05):
a matter of days to put it together. We decided
not to wait, not to take that risk. We believed
the threat of the Iranian when they said that they're
going to use those ballistic missiles to destroy Israel.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
We took it very seriously.

Speaker 4 (03:18):
How much did the Israeli government brief the US.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Government so we talked with the US, but this decision
was decided in Jerusalem, and we took that decision independently,
not for the first time in the eighties.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
And I want to remind you.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
We attacked the nuclear actor in Iraq. We took the
decision by ourselves when we attacked the reactor in Syria.
I think it will serve the US and other Western democracies,
but it was a decision that was made in Israel.

Speaker 4 (03:44):
Do you think the United States will come to not
just Israeli defense, but potentially if you're needing help with
more attack if this continues for days and weeks.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Well, since the day that was established, we never asked
the US to fight for us. We know how to
fight and we know how to defeat our enemies. You know,
we have heard threats that Direnia there threatening the US,
targets that are threatening.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
The allies of the US in your embassy, right.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
So we take precautions in different places around the world.
We are aware over the threats, but we will continue
also in Israel. We have to be honest, you know,
in needwel today we are getting ready for serious attacks
coming from Iran. It will be very intense intense in neither.
In the next few days, we are preparing the population
in this operation. It's not only about the bravery of

(04:33):
the pilots, it's about the population in Israel. They will
have to follow the guidelines in order to avoid casualties.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Ambassadors, you know the United States is system themselves from
this in the last twenty four US and said they
weren't pound of the attack. What's not clear to us
is whether they assisted in the defense of Israel.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
Did I, Well, you know we.

Speaker 2 (04:49):
Have capabilities and we are Did they assist you when
they sent out drafts from a run to Israel? Did
you receive any help from partners outside of Israel?

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Well, as far as I know that we were able
to deal with the ones by ourselves and in a way.
But we have to realize, you know, the threat is
not only against Israel. As I said earlier, Iran is
threatening the allies of the US in the Gulf. So
we have the capabilities. I'm not sure they have the
same capabilities.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
Are you worried about an asymmetrical response from Iran?

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Well, we took into consideration that there will be retaliation
and marine and.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
Will be proportional.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, they know that we have capabilities as well, so
they will have to think, you know, twice before the
attackers and what they are doing. And I would say
that today we can reach every target in Iran. We
have the control in terms of our.

Speaker 4 (05:43):
Pilot to reach every target.

Speaker 1 (05:46):
Well, you know, we have the capability. We focused on
the goal earlier. I mentioned earlier the ballistic missile infrastructure
and the nuclear facilities.

Speaker 4 (05:55):
How long will that take if you were to reach
every target.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
Well, it's not going to be a show operation, and
it will day, two weeks or months.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
No, I wouldn't say months, but it can take days
or weeks.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
How lonely this is round at the United Nations at
the moment.

Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, I will let you know in a few minutes
when I go there, Jonathan, But it's gonna be it's
gonna be tough for us. I want already called for
the Security Council to meet public.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Will happen this afternoon.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
But you know, I will tell my colleague that the
UN where were you in the last ten years when
I ran threatened these? Well where were you when the
same ballistic missions?

Speaker 3 (06:30):
Where were you.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
When they actually acquire the nuclear capabilities? So you know,
words will not stop Iran is.

Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well will the international response Saudi Arabia calling it heines,
the Native Secretary General calling for de escalation, the UN
Secretary General calling for maximum or strain. Do you think
there is a diplomatic group when it comes to dealing
with this regime?

Speaker 1 (06:51):
Well, I think that you know already you have the
Diplomatic Act and the time for that will come. But
we thought that the diplomacy didn't convince Iran to change courts.
You know, for decades they negotiated, they played the game.
The light we found we had the intel that they
are developing nuclear capabilities for military uses.

Speaker 4 (07:15):
There's some analysis so that under the JCPOA they were restrained,
they were capped. They are not capped. Now when it
comes to enrichment.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well, you know, without the JCPOA, they were continuing and
what we only recently that you know, alongside the reactors
and the plan that was supervised by the international community,
they developed a military capability that they were hiding it
from the international community. So once we realized that going

(07:43):
to that direction, we decided to stop that.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Ambassador, we preciate your time this morning, thanks for making saying.
I'm sure you can have an exceptional pas ahead of yes,
so thank you sir. This is running Ambassador to the
UN janneton there and the latest attacks on the Round