Edelstein to 'Post': 'If Israel doesn't respond, Iran will think it can attack every week'

• Published date: 16 April 2024
• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"There will be a response," Edelstein said, in the aftermath of the dramatic actions of a newly forged defensive coalition of five armies — Israel, the US, Jordan, France, and Great Britain — that repelled over 300 drones and missiles Iran had launched at Israel early Sunday morning

"I don't think that we can pretend that nothing really happened because we managed to defend ourselves and [didn't] let all these ground missiles and ballistic missiles and the drones kill thousands of Israelis," Edelstein said.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi has similarly sworn that Israel will retaliate.

Edelstein said that this time around, Israel was able to weather the attack.

The IDF and US officials have touted the success of the defensive operation, which downed 99% of the projectiles so that Israel didn't suffer any substantive damage.

'Iran could be emboldened to repeat its attacks.'

But, Edelstein said, if "there's no retaliation," Iran "can decide that this is something they can do every week."

"There are different ways and different means to react," Edelstein said. When Israel does act against Iran, it will be very clear to Tehran that the IDF was behind it.

"Let's put it this way: the Iranians would know for a fact that their improper deeds didn't pass unnoticed," Edelstein said.

He spoke as Israel's major allies, including the US, France, and Great Britain, have urged it not to directly attack Iran.

Should Israel decide to retaliate, its allies want it to choose a more indirect response that would not escalate the situation or lead to an all-out war.

US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Monday that Iran's attack was a failure and that Israel has restored deterrence through the IDF's successful defense of the country.

"I've seen reporting that the Iranians meant to fail that this spectacular and embarrassing failure was all by design," US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Monday, as he explained that such statements were patently false.

"Let's be straight, given the scale of this attack, Iran's intent was clearly to cause significant destruction and casualties," Kirby said as he spoke of how a coalition of five armies — Israel, the US, Jordan, France, and Great Britain — repelled over 300 missiles and drone targeting the Jewish state.

It was the first time that this coalition of forces had acted as a military defensive force both in the region and in defense of...