Miki Zohar Rebukes Trump, Says Israel Could Strike Iran Alone

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar issued a sharp response on Tuesday to President Donald Trump after Trump said at the G7 that Israel would not exist without him. In an interview with Ido Tauber, Zohar said Israel is not dependent on the United States to attack Iran and insisted, “Israel can stand alone, we just respected you.”

Zohar stressed that while Israel values the alliance with Washington, it could have acted on its own if it had wanted to. He said Israel could have hit Iran so hard that “they would not have electricity, water and food” and added that the country could have “wiped Iran off the face of the earth” by itself.

According to Zohar, Israel chose not to do so out of respect for the American partnership and broader strategic considerations. “We did not do this because we respect the United States and want to build a logical infrastructure in the Middle East, and not create extraordinary chaos and extraordinary destruction,” he said, calling Israel “a very responsible country.”

He concluded that Israel could survive and fight independently if necessary, even at a higher cost. “Israel can stand alone. It does not want to stand alone, it wants cooperation with the United States, but Israel can stand alone if there is a need,” he said.