Haley: Iranian Drone in Israel a ‘Wake-Up Call’ to the World
The Fellowship | February 15, 2018
America’s ambassador to the United Nations has spoken out about the recent incursion of an Iranian drone into Israeli airspace, calling in “an egregious and unprompted escalation.” Israel Hayom reports that Nikki Haley also promised that the U.S. “will always stand by our ally when confronted with provocations from Iran, Hezbollah, or the Assad regime”:
Addressing a U.N. Security Council briefing that focused on the situation in Syria and Saturday’s incident, Haley lambasted Iran’s breach of Israeli airspace.
“Earlier this week, Iranian-backed militias in southern Syria launched a drone into Israeli territory. It was an egregious and unprompted escalation. The drone flight this week is a wake-up call for all of us. Iran and Hezbollah are making plans to stay in Syria,” she said.
“Iran was once again doing what it does – risking conflict and testing the will of its neighbors and opponents to resist its aggression. Israel rightly took action to defend itself. The United States will always stand by our ally when confronted with provocations from Iran, Hezbollah, or the Assad regime.”
Haley went on to stress that the incident “shines a spotlight on the reality in Syria today. We are seeing actors engage in a dangerous game of pushing boundaries, instead of behaving responsibly and committing to peace.
“The Assad regime has become a front for Iran, Hezbollah, and their allies to advance the irresponsible and dangerous agenda for the Middle East. On every front of this conflict [in Syria], we find fighters imported by Iran from Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. When we see the Assad regime starving civilians in eastern Ghouta or pummeling schools and hospitals in Idlib, we see advisers from Iran and Hezbollah helping direct those atrocities,” Haley said.
She further warned that Iran’s presence in Syria prevents the possibility of brokering an end to the nearly seven-year-long civil war.
“It’s hard to see how a peace process will work while the Assad regime continues to launch all-out attacks against the Syrian people, and Iran and Hezbollah are entrenching themselves inside the country…”