Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon told Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow on Thursday that nearly all the chaos and instability in the Middle East is linked back to the Iranian regime.
“Wherever you see chaos and instability, you will find Iranian money,” Danon told host Marlow during an interview on Breitbart News Daily.
Last week, Iran sent an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Syria near the Jordan border into Israeli territory in the north. Danon warned that the Iranian drone that flew into Israel could end up flying into Europe soon, suggesting that the Iranian threat is a global one.
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council this week, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said, “The drone flight this week is a wake-up call for all of us. Iran and Hezbollah are making plans to stay in Syria.”
Asked by Marlow how he anticipates the U.N. will react to the incident, Danon said, “Unfortunately, the U.N. Security Council is not willing to condemn the presence of Iran in Syria. And what are seeing today is, the Iranians are bringing into Syria thousands of terrorists, they are putting a lot of money into building infrastructure and building military facilities and rockets and missiles. Basically, they want to take over Syria.” He noted that Lebanon should serve as an example as to why the world cannot allow for this to happen.
Danon also pointed out that “more than 82,000 soldiers, terrorists, who are being paid by Iran are operating today in Syria.” There are 3,000 who are IRGC fighters among them. Danon said the U.N. is not taking this seriously.
He told Breitbart News that he intends to raise the issue of condemning Iranian terror during a meeting at the U.N. Security Council next Tuesday. Despite this, he said, “I don’t have any expectations because, unfortunately, the Security Council is ignoring this issue. And even if they pass a resolution, they will not name Hezbollah, a terrorist organization. They will ignore Hezbollah, and they will refrain from condemning Iran.”
Danon suggested it is only a matter of time until the Iranian issue becomes like the Islamic State.
Asked what approach he recommends the Trump administration takes with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Danon said, “I think the U.S. should stick to their American values and when you see that taxpayers money is being used for incitement [of terrorism] I think the basic thing is to stop [funding] it and to demand answers.”
He added, “UNRWA is supposed to deal with humanitarian issues. And, unfortunately, you see that in this agency, they are paying salaries for teachers who teach to hate, who teach to incite [terrorism] … I think their decision to hold the majority of funds was the right decision and the U.S. should demand reform.”
The issue of underground tunnels used by Hezbollah to smuggle terrorists to the Israeli border is nothing new. However, the international community has done little to nothing to condemn this.
“I showed them [the UN] evidence, some intelligence materials showing the presence of Hezbollah [fighters and terrorists] on the border” of Israel,” Danon told Breitbart. He said this violates all U.N. Security Council resolutions. “And we tell them, when we will have to protect our citizens, we will do whatever is necessary.” He added, “because that’s what will happen in the future, unfortunately. We will have to defend our citizens, and then the U.N. Security Council will have to defend our citizens, and then all of a sudden have an emergency session to condemn Israel when we were forced to act in self-defense.”
Asked if he believes Netanyahu should resign over bribery allegations from a former internal party rival, Danon said, “I think those people who ask him now to resign, they do it for political reasons, not because they care about what’s happening in Israel. The same way we allow the democracy which allows the authorities to investigate everyone, we should respect the law which says that until there is no indictment, there is no trial, you cannot demand anything from the prime minister.”
He added, “And I hope by the end of the process the prime minister will be able to continue the important job he is doing today.”
In conclusion, Danon said, “The Israelis are grateful for the bold decision of the administration of President Trump when he decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and he announced that he will move the American embassy to Jerusalem. I think the people of Israel are grateful for that. Jerusalem has been our capital for more than 3,000 years and being at the UN and hearing the shameful resolutions condemning the connection of Jews to Jerusalem was not easy for us. That’s why when we saw the strong support of the U.S., we appreciated that.”
Breitbart News Tonight airs Monday through Friday on SiriusXM’s Patriot channel 125 from 9:00 p.m. to midnight Eastern (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Pacific).
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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