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Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday that Israel and the U.S. did not have “much of a choice” but to “take action” and strike Iran.
He also indicated that Israel had intelligence showing Iran wants to expand its arsenal of long-range missiles from 2,000 to 20,000.
“When you know that they have invested all their nation’s resources and money in creating havoc in the Middle East as you try to make peace with Muslim countries,” Herzog said. “When you know that they have another new secret plan to rush to the bomb, you have to take action.”
In an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, Herzog said there were concerns that Iran was going to expand its weapons arsenal, and that the U.S. and Israel believed Iran had “another new secret plan to rush” to develop a nuclear weapon.
Neither the U.S. or Israel has provided evidence to back up its claims on Iran planning to build a nuclear weapon. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said Monday that, prior to the strikes, Iranian negotiators claimed during talks that they had enough uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs.
Iran has long said its nuclear program is only intended for peaceful purposes.
With the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes of Iran now in their fifth day and with no end in sight to the war, Herzog said that Israel is not calling for a ground invasion of the country.
“Let me be clear, I’m not calling on any boots on the ground. I’m not asking any American or anyone else,” Herzog said.
Asked whether it was President Trump or Israeli leaders who ultimately made the decision to carry out the assault, Herzog said that “Israel does not dictate to President Trump anything, and Israel does not drag America into a war, God forbid.”
“This decision of his (Trump) is out of clear considerations and professional decision-making process,” Herzog said, adding that Israel was “a factor because Israel is an ally.”
Regime change is “not necessarily” the goal of the war, Herzog said, but instead what he described as “Middle East change,” which he explained as crippling Iran’s ability to work toward a nuclear weapon and preventing it from being a state sponsor of terror around the world – including the support it provides the militant groups that serve as its proxies: Gaza-based Hamas, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the Yemen-based Houthis.
“It’s about time that everybody tells Iran, ‘Guys, we’re fed up, this has to change,'” Herzog said. “One way or another, if it will lead to a regime change, the more the better.”
Herzog later said that Israel is not asking other Gulf nations to enter the war.
“Sometimes you have no choice, if you are hit, you have to fight back,” Herzog said.
Regarding whether he is concerned there is no clear endgame to the war, Herzog said “it’s always something that one needs to take into account.”
Pressed on a time frame for ending war, Herzog responded, “It takes time, because these things take time, but if you look at it from a birds-eye view, and also with the data, you see, there is a constant weakening of the Iranian regime’s capabilities.”
Mr. Trump, when asked in a phone interview with CBS News on Saturday night whether there was someone in Iran he would like to see lead the country in the wake of the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr. Trump responded, “Yes, I think so. There are some good candidates.”
Herzog, however, was mum on whether Israel has its own such list, only saying “it is not our job to decide who can lead Iran.”
He called the coordination between the U.S. and Israel in the war “superbly close, very close,” but declined to provide details on how that coordination was playing out.
Herzog would also not comment on whether Israeli officials were concerned that the U.S. would continue its part in the war if support for it in the U.S. waned, admitting that he understands “it’s not a popular war in America.”
A CBS News poll released Tuesday found that 62% of Americans do not believe the White House has clearly explained its goals for the military action against Iran.
“I understand it’s not a popular war in America, because, you know, usually, people do not know the intricacies of the war, and they also compare it to previous and other wars,” Herzog said. “This is a unique war.”
