"Iran is the biggest threat to the region's security, and the United States will do everything in its power to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons," said General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Army Central Command, in an interview with Israel Today.
Mackenzie arrived in Israel for a brief farewell visit, at the end of his term as commander of Sentcom, to which Israel has moved in the past year from the European Command (EUCOM).
During this time he led the tightening of operational and intelligence cooperation between the IDF and the US military, as well as a series of exercises in which other countries in the region also participated, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Egypt and Jordan. Which will be overcome with the expected signing of the renewed nuclear deal.
I was delighted to meet this morning with the Commander of Santcom, General Mackenzie, and thank him for his years of partnership and leadership upon the end of his term.
I thanked General Mackenzie for his commitment to the security of the State of Israel and for strengthening cooperation between the armies of Israel and the United States. Pic.twitter.com/98mxcGpb31
Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) March 3, 2022
During his visit to the country, Mackenzie met with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff. Mackenzie also said that he is closely following the fighting in Ukraine. " In the threat to the European stability that this invasion posed.
I think the next few days will be a big burden for all of us. "
Do you agree with those who say that this war symbolizes the weakness of the West and the United States?
"No, I think it actually teaches about the power of the West.
The war did not end, so I do not say that at all. "
Do you think there is an end that is not obvious - that is, an end where Russia does not take over Ukraine?
"Russia may be able to take over Ukraine, but that does not mean it is the end of the story. I do not know what is going to happen, but I do not think it is a sign of weakness."
How do you stop the Russians from expanding their destinations after Ukraine?
"We have already stated that further expansion of the fighting will be an activity against countries with which we have relations under Article 5 (the clause in the NATO agreement that guarantees mutual guarantee between the member states, YL).
At Sentcom we work with the Russians in Syria, for example, and there we have well-structured coordination mechanisms.
We are advancing our missions in Syria with minimal friction, so we have not seen any tension in it there. "
Fighting in Ukraine, Photo: AFP
What are the biggest threats to world peace and stability? Moscow and Beijing?
"Our national security strategy recognizes China as a significant threat, and so does Russia. Iran and North Korea are also a threat, but not on the same scale as the first two; and there are also extremist and violent organizations of course. The United States is a global force, so we need to look "From a global perspective, we need to look at more than one threat and we need to balance those threats."
When Biden entered the White House he said using force would be a last resort, but it did not work against Russia. Will it work in the Middle East against Iran?
"We have several goals against Iran. We do not want the Iranians to have nuclear weapons, and we are working on this level by a variety of means, including the diplomatic process in progress. "Directly or through its apostles. We have some success in that."
Russia's envoy for talks with Iran: Close to new nuclear deal // Photo: Reuters
Is it possible to deter Iran in the reality that the Houthis in Yemen are working against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates? We see Hezbollah's activity in Lebanon and the militias in Iraq and Syria. Why should we be optimistic about Iran's conduct after signing an agreement?
"One of my main goals is to produce deterrence aimed at preventing a state-to-state war. We have really prevented this, but there are also many gray areas, which include Iranian emissaries and negative Iranian activity. I do not know if we have the ability to stop this conduct of Iran, But what we can do is prevent a larger escalation, and that is one of our most important tasks. "
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi at the Bushhar nuclear facility, Photo: Reuters
Do you agree with Israel that Iran is the biggest threat to the world, or at least to the region?
"I can not analyze the situation from the Israeli point of view. From my point of view, from Santcom's point of view, we see Iran as the main negative player in the region and we are focused on it. We are fully focused on Iran as the main component in threats to the region and beyond."
Can Iran be trusted?
"I do not think anyone should be trusted. What is needed is to judge people by their conduct and not by what they say, so trust is not the important factor here."
Do you believe Iran when its leaders declare that they have no intention of acquiring nuclear weapons?
"It does not matter what I believe, what matters is what I see and recognize. They are in the process of talking now and I do not think they have broken into nuclear weapons at the moment."
Should we believe the US when it says it will do anything to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons?
"We are your good partners for years, but I can not answer that, only you can.
Let me put it this way: one of the purposes of my visit here is to send a message that promises that "the United States attaches importance to this region and its relations with its friends and allies here. We will continue to be involved."
Just when it comes to Iran or other issues?
"The United States has many interests and many reasons in the region for which we want to be involved here, such as trade and maintaining global stability.
All of these are important to us and important to Israel, so we have similar goals in the region. "
🇦🇪⚓️🇧🇭⚓️🇮🇱⚓️🇺🇸
Forces assigned to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Israel and US Naval Forces Central Command began conducting a multilateral maritime security operations exercise in the Red Sea, Nov.
10.https: //t.co/Quph73qc8d
- US Naval Forces Central Command / US 5th Fleet (@ US5thFleet) November 11, 2021
What kind of cooperation do you see between Israel and the US and other countries in the region in the future
?
We are focused on Iran and Israel sees Iran as a major threat.
So there is a natural matter of conversation between us here.
We have an opportunity with another partnership in the region that sees the danger posed by the expansion of Iran's threat, and that of ballistic missiles, drones and cruise missiles. Everyone is seeing an increase in this threat and it is felt in the last five years, "A certain amount of air defense and missile defense. This is a tremendous opportunity. Israel has tremendous capabilities in this area and we believe we will work to maximize those capabilities."
We have seen exercises with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. Do you see it expanding, like Saudi Arabia?
"I hope that over time it will expand. I think we are on a good path to achieve this. We are promoting with our entire partnership a significant exercise program. This is about building trust, and it is a trust that we think exists between us in the region and does not exist with Iran."
Israel looks at what is happening in Ukraine and says it needs to defend itself. You visited Yad Vashem. do you understand this?
"I fully understand that. It is impossible to leave Yad Vashem without a sense of horror and rage, so I fully understand. I also know that there are other nations that want to help Israel defend itself and the United States is at the forefront."
Can Israel trust these companies and support in the future?
"My visit is a sign of that, Israel's arrival at Santcom is a sign of that, the meetings I had with senior Israeli officials today support that. The bottom line is yes."
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