Chicago envoy defends Israeli strikes on Iran as preemptive move against 'existential threats'

Israel’s Chicago envoy defends strikes on Iran as 'preemptive'

Israel’s top diplomatic representative in Chicago is defending his country’s strikes on Iran, saying they are necessary to avert imminent threats.

CHICAGO - Israel’s top diplomatic representative in Chicago is defending his country’s strikes on Iran, saying they are necessary to avert imminent threats.

Yinam Cohen, the Israeli consul general to the Midwest, sat down with political reporter Paris Schutz on Thursday afternoon.

What we know:

President Donald Trump is still weighing whether the United States will get involved in the conflict. Meanwhile, speculation is mounting over whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to target Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Cohen said Israel has only struck sites it believes are used to build or store weapons.

He said Iran has retaliated by attacking civilian areas, including a bombing Wednesday night at Soroka Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

Cohen also warned that Iran could pose a threat to Europe and the United States if its weapons capabilities are not dismantled.

What they're saying:

"The nature of this operation is preemptive. We're aiming at neutralizing two major existential threats that Iran poses to Israel. The first one is their nuclear arms ambitions and the second one is the build up of their ballistic missile arsenal. This is what we're targeting in Iran and this is the goal of this operation," Cohen said.

What's next:

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said there is no intelligence to suggest Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon.

Cohen, however, disagrees.