Iranian missiles, Islamic terrorism threaten Europe, says Israeli FM

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has issued a dire warning about the threat posed by Iranian missiles and Islamic terrorism to European countries and global security.

Katz's statement comes in response to recent threats made by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah against Cyprus, as reported by Detaly.co.il.

"Iranian missiles and Islamic terrorism threaten European countries and the entire free world. Iran must be stopped now before it is too late," said Katz. 

On June 19, Nasrallah said, "Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy targeting Lebanon will mean that the Cypriot government is a participant in the war and the resistance will deal with it as a participant in the war."

The Israeli security establishment is trying to understand what was behind this unexpected statement by Nasrallah. He is believed to be threatening to set the entire region on fire if the war in Lebanon escalates further in order to force Western countries to put pressure on Israel.

During the current war, the IDF has not conducted any operational activities from Cyprus against Lebanon. And the likelihood that the Israeli Air Force will have to seek bases abroad in the future is very low, because despite Hezbollah's great capabilities, it is very difficult to disable Israeli air bases.

Cyprus was not concerned about the Hezbollah leader's threat. Senior government officials said they would respond to any threat and announced that they would not cease security cooperation with Israel.

Both Cyprus and Israel understand that Nasrallah’s threat is addressed to the entire world, with an emphasis on Western countries, since in the event of a full-scale war, he intends to damage the security of the entire Eastern Mediterranean. Therefore, in his opinion, these countries, including the United States, Greece and others, must act to prevent Israel from intensifying hostilities.

It is unclear whether Nasrallah intends to carry out his threat. At least he has kept his word in the past. But an attack on Cyprus and ships in the Eastern Mediterranean could actually have the opposite result.

Cyprus is a member of the European Union, and an attempt by Hezbollah to damage regional security could prompt countries in the region to act precisely in Israel's favour.