Iranian leaders have denied the legitimacy of the internationally recognized sovereign state of Israel at every UN meeting they have ever attended, and called for its destruction.
Today, they called the leaders of a terror group that has killed hundreds of Americans (and thousands of Lebanese and Syrians, and which, within recent weeks, internationally targeted 12 Druze children for the crime of playing soccer in Northern Israel), “our martyrs,” and attacked Israel in “retaliation” for their assassination.
In doing so, Iran explicitly identified with a military organization, Hizbullah, that is currently engaged in an active campaign to drive the Jewish people living in Israel from their homes. It amounts to an open declaration of war, and proves that their commitment to the destruction of Israel is more than just words.
If Israel is to survive, it has no choice but to address the immediate, existential threat posed by Iran.