Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Danny Danon, presented an assessment of the situation in the Middle East, focusing on Iran, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, in a briefing for a group of accredited correspondents, underlining that Israel remains on "high alert" and that it "will not allow any threat to the security of its citizens."
Danon described Iran as the main destabilizing factor in the region, noting that, despite the recent war, “Iran would change its behavior, which we hoped for together with the United States.” As he pointed out, Tehran “continues its ballistic programs” and “uses billions of Iranian people’s dollars to finance Hezbollah, the Houthis, militias in Iraq and Hamas.”
At the same time, he warned that Israel has "much more capabilities than it has shown" and recommended that Iran "not test our capabilities."
“What they saw in the summer was just a fraction of our capabilities,” he said. He stressed that any decision to take military action is “a decision of the United States,” but made clear that Israel “is absolutely ready for any scenario.”
He was particularly harsh about the UN's stance on the protests in Iran, speaking of "hypocrisy and double standards." "Thousands of people were being massacred in the streets of Tehran and the UN was silent," he stressed.
Responding to a journalist’s question about coordination with the United States, he stressed that Israel is not “disappointed” by the pace of American decisions, noting that “for the US, individual mobilization of forces takes time,” unlike Israel, which can act faster because it is in the region and its air force is in constant action. As he put it, the matter is a “US decision,” emphasizing that the US President “has drawn the line” and that it is up to Washington when and if it will act.
The Israeli ambassador noted that the two sides are in constant communication and coordination, adding that Israel and the US "see the same direction and the same challenges," including Iran.
Regarding Gaza, Mr. Danon made it clear that “Israel is done with UNRWA,” noting that the Knesset has passed the relevant legislation and that “there will be no UNRWA activity in Israel.” He stressed that humanitarian aid continues through “other NGOs that are not involved in political campaigns against Israel.”
Regarding the future of Gaza, he noted that “without the disarmament of Hamas, there can be no sustainable solution,” expressing strong skepticism about the possibility of Hamas voluntarily handing over its weapons. “They will lie, they will play games – we know them,” he said. However, he stressed that in areas “where Hamas does not have control, reconstruction can begin.”
Regarding Lebanon, the Israeli ambassador stated categorically that Israel “does not want any UN presence” in the future and seeks “direct state-to-state, army-to-army cooperation.” He emphasized that Hezbollah poses “a threat primarily to Lebanon and not to Israel” and called on the Lebanese government to be “much more aggressive” in dealing with it.
He expressed the view that disarmament of Hezbollah "is feasible, at least in southern Lebanon."
Referring to Syria, Mr. Danon said Israel was holding “direct talks in France with the Syrian government,” but warned that the situation remained “extremely fragile.” He expressed concern for the security of minorities, particularly the Druze and Kurds, and made it a non-negotiable condition that “no armed militias can be on the border.”
He made it clear that Israel would remain present "until there are clear guarantees of stable, secure and peaceful borders."
"We are not getting guarantees that the borders will be calm. Once we get guarantees, I think we can move forward with negotiations with the Syrian government. And at the same time, we want to make sure that minorities are respected."
