The Czech foreign minister says that Israeli strikes on Iran were a reasonable response given Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and support for groups seeking to destroy Israel.
The Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, is a staunch supporter of Israel despite mounting criticism from western allies over its actions in Gaza amid the war sparked by the Tehran-backed Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Iran “is supporting so many players, including the Hezbollah and Hamas movements, with the intention to destroy the state of Israel, and also seeking a nuclear bomb,” Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky tells reporters in Prague.
“And I see that this was a reasonable reaction from the state of Israel towards a possible threat of a nuclear bomb,” he adds.
“I have a great deal of understanding for, let’s say, military action aimed at preventing the production of a nuclear bomb in the region,” he says.
“Iran has long failed to fulfill its obligations to the international community, is building up its nuclear program and, at the same time, uses rhetoric aimed at destroying the state of Israel,” he adds.