'Israel approved strike on Iran after PM Modi left': Israel envoy clarifies on visit timings
PTC News Desk: Israel approved military strikes against Iran two days after Narendra Modi ended his visit to the country in February, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar said on Monday, rejecting claims that the timing of the operation was linked to the Prime Minister’s trip.
Azar explained that the region was already tense when Modi visited Israel on February 25–26 and that the opportunity to carry out the strike came only after he had left. Modi arrived in Israel on February 25 for his second visit in nine years and returned to New Delhi the next day after holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It was evident that the situation is very volatile in our region even before Prime Minister Modi came. When it comes to the decision to strike, the operational opportunity came only after PM Modi left. The cabinet decision to approve the operation happened only two days after," Ambassador Azar said.
Two days later, in the early hours of February 28, Israel—along with the United States—launched a major military operation against Iran, accusing Tehran of developing nuclear weapons while negotiations over a possible nuclear deal were still ongoing. The strikes reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other senior officials, and destroyed key administrative and military facilities.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress criticised Modi’s visit, calling it “shameful” and “ill-timed.” The party said the trip created the impression that India supported military escalation, which it argued goes against the country’s long-standing commitment to a rules-based international order.
Salman Khurshid, chairman of the Congress Foreign Affairs Department, said the party was deeply concerned about the Prime Minister’s visit to Israel at a time when tensions were already high and there was a serious risk of a wider conflict in West Asia.
However the Israeli ambassador clarified that the operational oppertunity to strike Iran emerged only after PM Mdi left the country with the subsequent decision taken to launch attack on Iran as the situation was already very volatile.
- With inputs from agencies
