Ambassador on Iran Strike: 'The Buck Ends with the Government of Israel'

Israel’s ambassador to the United States stressed that “the window is closing” in dealing with Iran and that “the buck ends with the government of Israel” in deciding what action to take against the Islamic Republic.

“We have the most skin in the game. We are talking about eight million citizens. Some of them are children,” Michael Oren said yesterday on Fox. “We have a great, great stake in resolving this by diplomatic means. But we are coming up to a juncture where we have waited for these 20 years. It took the world ten years to take us seriously and took them another eight years to impose serious sanction on Iran.”

“And, alas, the sanctions haven’t worked. Diplomacy hasn’t worked. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Iranian nuclear program is actually accelerating,” he added.

Iran has enriched enough uranium now for nearly five nuclear devices, Oren said, but they’re rapidly moving centrifuges underground and out of airstrike reach.

“We are dealing with this Iranian regime, in addition to its pledges to destroy us is backing up its words with deeds. They’ve carried out terrorist attack against Israeli targets across five continents, 25 countries, including right here in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to, along with the assassinating the Saudi ambassador, to blow up the embassy here,” the ambassador said. “They killed five of our citizens in Bulgaria a few weeks ago. They are providing tens of thousands of rockets.”

“They are trying to kill Americans. They killed American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are helping the Assad regime murder their own people in Syria. We have to take them seriously.”

Oren reminded viewers of President Obama’s public vow of support for Israel’s defense rights, even as the White House is assuredly wringing its hands over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s next move.

“President Obama said publicly Israel has a right to defend itself against any Middle Eastern threat, and only Israel as a sovereign nation can decide how best to defend citizens,” Oren said. “The buck ends with the government of Israel. That buck is in Jerusalem with the democratically elected Israeli government.”