Israel’s president has criticised Spain’s stance on the Middle East crisis, accusing the country of playing a ‘strange and incomprehensible game.’
Isaac Herzog made the remarks during a visit to Israel’s national fire authority near Tel Aviv, where he questioned Spain’s position while praising what he described as a growing international coalition against Iran.
His comments come the same day the Spanish government deployed the frigate Cristobal Colon to Cyprus to help reinforce defence on the European Union’s eastern frontier.
Herzog suggested Spain was distancing itself from allies at a time when other countries were backing the campaign against Iran.
‘At this moment we see which countries are joining the effort and offering support,’ he said.
‘And we also see countries like Spain, which is somehow playing a strange and incomprehensible game.’
The Israeli president also claimed Spain was failing to fulfil its responsibilities within NATO and argued European countries should have taken a stronger stance against Iran earlier.
Herzog described the coalition supporting military pressure on Tehran as a ‘formidable regional and international alliance’ aimed at weakening what he called Iran’s influence in the region.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said the conflict between the US-Israeli alliance and Iran could continue for ‘days or weeks.’
Speaking about the possibility of negotiations, Danon suggested diplomacy was not yet the priority.
‘I believe diplomacy will come into action, but not yet,’ he said. ‘First we have to finish the job.’
He added that the aim is to dismantle what he described as Iran’s ‘terror machinery’, and predicted that within a few days Tehran would find it harder to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil routes.
