00:00Pakistan is not a good faith actor. It is an aggressive state that systematically supports
00:05terrorism. It is not a good faith mediator in these negotiations with Iran. It is an ally of
00:12Iran that is trying to build a radical Islamic axis that will threaten Israel and India alike.
00:19Indians should be deeply concerned about the increased role that Pakistan is getting
00:25internationally from the mediation of the talks with Iran. First of all, I'll begin by asking you,
00:32of course, on the Pakistan's Defense Minister Khwaja Asif's tweet, where he called Israel a curse
00:38on humanity. And he also deleted the post later. How do you look at such statements, Ilan?
00:44The Pakistani Defense Minister's statement is outrageous and completely unacceptable.
00:49Israel is interpreting it rightly as a call for the annihilation of our country by a
00:55nuclear armed state. And this is reminding a lot of Israelis what most Indians know,
01:01which is that Pakistan is not a good faith actor. It is an aggressive state that systematically supports
01:07terrorism. It is not a good faith mediator in these negotiations with Iran. It is an ally of Iran that
01:15is trying to build a radical Islamic axis that will threaten Israel and India alike. And I think Indians
01:22should be deeply concerned about the increased role that Pakistan is getting internationally from the
01:29mediation of the talks with Iran. It is setting a very dangerous precedent that is turning Pakistan
01:36into a global power broker and peacemaker in a way that is going to lead countries to throw their support
01:44behind Pakistan, to dismiss India's own security concerns, where we know now the mask has come off.
01:51This is a country with nuclear weapons that is openly calling for the destruction of Israel and,
01:56of course, has subjected India to so much of that support for terrorism and aggression in the past.
02:02Ilan, notably, these comments also come at a time, you know, at a sensitive moment when Pakistan
02:10credited for brokering two weeks ceasefire between US and Iran and is preparing to host peace talks in
02:15Islamabad. Does this also undermine Pakistan's claim of neutrality? And does Israel see this as a diplomatic
02:22misstep or a reflection of Pakistan's true position?
02:26Pakistan is not a good faith mediator in these talks. It is an ally of Iran. I'll remind you it
02:33was a
02:33Pakistani who helped the Iranian regime begin its nuclear weapons program in the first place.
02:39Pakistan is trying purity and prosperity and stability in West Asia. So Pakistan's role as a
02:46mediator, having threatened the destruction of Israel, not only shows that it is out and out the
02:53supporter of the Islamic Republic in this conflict, it shows that it continues to be a fundamental
02:58destabilizing actor around the world. And a country that is a source of so much regional instability
03:04cannot possibly be a source of global stability.
03:09Ilan, the US-Iran ceasefire appears fragile with disagreements over whether Lebanon is included.
03:15Does Israel risk undermining this broader diplomatic effort? And Iran has also warned that continued
03:22strikes in Lebanon could derail negotiations. How would you look at these statements?
03:27The US-Iran ceasefire is fragile because the Islamic Republic is refusing to open the Strait of Hormuz
03:33like it has promised. It is continuing to act like a pirate on the high seas, trapping ships in the
03:39Strait of Hormuz, not letting them in or out, holding the whole global economy hostage to try to subject
03:45the United States and the whole world to blackmail. Iran must open the Strait of Hormuz. That blockade
03:51is a violation of international law and completely unacceptable. But Lebanon is not covered by this
03:57ceasefire. The United States has been absolutely clear. It didn't promise that Israel would leave
04:03Hezbollah alone. And you know, Indians will appreciate Israel is a sovereign state. No one is going to
04:08negotiate matters of war and peace on our behalf. Israel is fighting Hezbollah now because Iran's
04:14proxy army in Lebanon has fired 7,000 missiles, rockets and drones at Israel in the last month. I woke
04:23up at
04:23two o'clock in the morning because they fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv. And Israel is determined
04:28to push away the threat of Hezbollah from our villages on the northern border where our families
04:35are sitting ducks. And I'm sure that India would not tolerate a foreign-backed terrorist organization
04:41on its borders firing missiles and drones, forcing people out of their homes. Israel won't accept it
04:47either. It has signaled it wants direct peace talks with Lebanon. That is a very big development.
04:53Israel is saying no to a simple ceasefire that leaves Hezbollah in place and condemns us to
04:59more conflict with Hezbollah. Yes, to full peace talks that allow us to dismantle Hezbollah together.
05:06You mentioned about the direct talks. There was a statement by the Prime Minister of Israel
05:12announcing direct talks with Lebanon while also continuing military operations. Can diplomacy
05:18realistically succeed under fire? Israel and Lebanon should have peace. Every world leader should
05:26be demanding that Lebanon recognize Israel, recognize the border, join the Abraham Accords
05:32and stop allowing Hezbollah, Iran's terrorist proxy army, to attack Israeli families from its soil.
05:40But Israel is determined to push away the threat of Hezbollah. It will not allow Lebanon to use the
05:46promise of talks to buy time, to drag its feet, to allow Hezbollah to keep attacking Israeli families.
05:53It wants a peace framework that will allow us to tackle Hezbollah together. But it's Israel's
05:59military action against Hezbollah that is giving the Lebanese government both the urgency and the
06:05opportunity to confront Hezbollah, which is something that it has been chickening out of doing for the
06:10last 20 years. So I hope the Lebanese government will take up Israel's offer for direct peace talks,
06:16establish direct, normal relations, and then work together with Israel to dismantle this proxy army
06:23that is, by all accounts, the common enemy of both of us.
06:27So, Ilan, what exactly is Israel's endgame? Normalization with Lebanon or neutralization of Hezbollah
06:35at any cost? Both. Israel wants normal, peaceful relations with a neighbor that doesn't allow
06:43its territory to be used for attacks against us. We want a peaceful border. We want normal relations
06:50with the Lebanese government and no rocket attacks from Lebanese territory. So that means the endgame
06:55is to expand the circle of peace in the whole region. Israel has already normalized relations with Bahrain,
07:03the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco as part of the Abraham Accords. It wants the whole Arab world to join
07:09those agreements and make peace with Israel. But that will require the Lebanese government to stop the
07:16armed attacks from its territory. Israel cannot allow the families in the villages on the border to be
07:23sitting ducks for missile attacks where they have zero warning time to run for shelter because Iran's
07:30terrorist proxies keep firing missiles and drones at their homes.
07:36Ilan, Israel calls Hezbollah the aggressor, while others call Israeli strikes indiscriminate.
07:42How does Israel view this? And you know, with mounting civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,
07:47how does Israel address accusations of humanitarian violations and civilian casualties? Several countries
07:55have condemned their strikes. What do you have to say about that?
07:58Israel is fighting against Hezbollah because Hezbollah is firing missiles, drones and rockets
08:03at Israeli families, and Lebanon has done nothing to stop it. It's really not that complicated.
08:09Israel wants security for the people of northern Israel so families can sleep safely in their homes
08:15without having Iranian-backed jihadists attacking us. It is a tragedy that we have reached this point
08:21because the Lebanese government for a quarter of a century has failed to confront Hezbollah.
08:27The 2006 war ended with a UN resolution requiring Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah. It didn't do that,
08:34and Hezbollah built a NATO-sized invasion force on Israel's border. After the October 7 massacre,
08:41it joined Hamas' war against Israel. The 2024 war ended with a commitment that Lebanon would dismantle Hezbollah.
08:48It didn't do that. Hezbollah went back to attacking Israeli families, and now Israelis are having to
08:55send our finest sons into battle against Hezbollah to clean up Lebanon's mess because Lebanon allowed
09:02its territory to be used by a terrorist militia for attacks against our families. So the situation in
09:08Lebanon is very sad. It's tragic. It's a shame we've come here because the UN has so completely failed
09:15to address the threat of Hezbollah, and I hope that the Lebanese government takes this issue seriously
09:20and dismantles Hezbollah immediately so that it stops threatening Israeli families and we can finally
09:27move forward towards peace in the region. Ilan, just last question, since we are expecting talks.
09:34If diplomacy fails and escalation continues, what does victory look like for Israel and at what cost?
09:42Israel says that it supports President Trump's efforts to reach a deal that will address the
09:47triple threat from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The missiles, the nuclear program,
09:52and the terrorist proxies. That is a top priority, not just for Israel, but for all the Gulf countries
09:59that have been attacked with drones and ballistic missiles in the last month and do not want a simple
10:04ceasefire that leaves the Iranian regime free to bomb Abu Dhabi, Dubai and all the cities in the Middle East.
10:11But if these peace talks collapse because the Iranian regime is committed to being the world's number
10:17one state sponsor of terror and an aggressor in the region, it's important that the United States keep the
10:23threat of renewed military action on the table to fight Iranian aggression. And Israel will, of course,
10:29be willing to act as a firm American ally in doing its part to stop those Iranian attacks against the
10:36whole
10:37Gulf and the whole of West Asia.
10:40Ilan, thank you very much for speaking with us. And since this is a developing story,
10:45I might reach out to you again for an interview.
10:47It's a pleasure any time.
10:48...
10:51...
10:52You
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