Israeli Ambassador Michael Leiter on Iran conflict and Rep. Ro Khanna's visit to West Bank

[0:00] We're joined now by Israel's ambassador to the United States, Dr. Michael Leiter. [0:05] Good to have you back here. [0:06] Good morning. [0:07] Your prime minister this morning has been honoring Senator Lindsey Graham. [0:11] I know he was a fierce advocate for Israel, and he also was really pushing for normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. [0:21] Just three weeks ago on this program, he made that pitch. [0:24] I wonder if you think there is a way to carry on his legacy through continuing that kind of diplomatic work. [0:32] Absolutely. [0:33] Lindsey was a dear friend. [0:34] My first day in Washington, January 27, 2025, the first phone call I got once I landed on my seat in the embassy was from Lindsey Graham. [0:42] He said, can we have dinner tonight? [0:44] And we've been talking about normalization in the Middle East for the past year and a half. [0:48] And he was not only a fierce advocate of defeating this Iranian regime, he was also a fierce advocate of what would happen afterwards. [0:56] And he saw he had a vision for peace in the Middle East. [0:58] And absolutely, we have to work toward that end. [1:01] But it really is going to happen if his first part of that vision is fulfilled, and that's that Iran is no longer a regional hegemon menacing its neighbors. [1:11] Well, three weeks ago, Lindsey Graham said on this program, 2026. [1:15] That was his vow that normalization would happen, so we'll have to follow that. [1:18] We still have some time. [1:20] Let me ask you about the other significant development overnight with Iran. [1:25] The attempt to revive this truth between the United States and Iran clearly has just collapsed. [1:30] This was just an attempt to have a pause to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, frankly. [1:35] It was pretty limited in scope. [1:36] But then the IRGC fired on a commercial vessel. [1:39] The United States has resumed bombing. [1:41] For the moment, Iran is not fired on Israel. [1:43] Israel has not fired on Iran. [1:45] Does Israel intend to stay on the sidelines? [1:48] How do we see this conflict at this point? [1:51] President Trump has been consistent, I think, throughout this confrontation. [1:55] If talks will work, if diplomacy can work, then he's in favor of the diplomatic route. [2:00] But when it doesn't work, you have to go back to military and kinetic activity. [2:04] When the United States signed the MOU with Iran just a few weeks ago, there was one item, just one thing, that the Iranians had to fulfill. [2:12] And that was keeping the straits open. [2:14] And that they've completely ignored. [2:16] So they forced the U.S. to go back into kinetic activity. [2:19] We're a partner. [2:21] We're an ally. [2:22] If the United States calls on us to rejoin kinetic activity against Iran, we're going to be there for the United States. [2:27] But at the moment, the U.S. is asking you to wait. [2:30] I didn't say that. [2:31] I said the United States has not asked us to join the effort. [2:34] But if that request will come in, we're going to be there. [2:39] Well, that MOU, when it was signed by the president in Versailles and then by the vice president, your government was opposed to this. [2:46] You made no mistake that Prime Minister Netanyahu saw big flaws in this deal. [2:51] When you saw what happened, was there a moment of, I told you so here? [2:56] No, that's not the nature of our relationship. [2:58] We express our opinion. [2:59] We saw flaws, but we also expressed hope that it would work. [3:03] If at the end of the day, 60 days after the MOU, we've got a denuclearized Iran, we've got Iran not producing ballistic missiles and not supporting their proxies, well, if it would be 90 days or 120 days, if we have Iran that's denuclearized, not building ballistic missiles, not supporting proxies around the region, [3:21] just not being a menacing, mayhem-spreading regime, then we will have accomplished it without connectivity. [3:29] We have doubts about the possibility of that actually working, but all we do is express our opinion. [3:34] Well, very clear about the very first few lines of the MOU that mentioned Lebanon, and that's where I want to go next. [3:41] Because the U.S. has been trying to broker these talks between the Israeli government and the Lebanese government to essentially work together against Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. [3:51] Under the framework that was reached last month, Israel pledged to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon. [3:57] Do you still intend to do that? [3:59] What does that timeline look like? [4:00] Well, I'm actually leading the negotiations on Israel's behalf with Lebanon, so I know a thing or two about the trilateral agreement. [4:07] And what the agreement with Lebanon does is completely remove Iran from the paradigm. [4:12] Iran is not to be involved in Lebanon. [4:14] They have no business in Lebanon. [4:16] Hezbollah has no business in Lebanon. [4:18] As a matter of fact, Israel and Lebanon are on the same page. [4:20] We want Hezbollah out for our security and for their sovereignty. [4:23] We can withdraw the moment that Hezbollah is dismantled. [4:26] If Hezbollah is not dismantled, then we have to stay in our security zone, because we're not going to go back to a situation where our citizens are going to be threatened by an Iranian proxy firing missiles and building tunnels so they can attack like Hamas did on October 7th. [4:39] Well, that's different from what the U.S. State Department has lined up here, which is specifically two pilot zones that Israel is supposed to withdraw from and CENTCOM would oversee. [4:49] They're pilot zones. [4:51] When does that happen? [4:52] Pilot zones. [4:52] Well, we're preparing it right now, but the whole idea of the pilot zone. [4:55] Because Lebanon has said that's delayed. [4:56] No, it's not delayed. [4:58] We're working together with CENTCOM and the Lebanese Armed Forces to create the conditions so that we can actually move into a situation where the pilot zones are receptive to Lebanese Armed Forces. [5:09] If they're not going to be receptive, if Hezbollah is going to stay there, we haven't accomplished anything. [5:13] That's why they're called pilot zones. [5:15] If it works, then we continue the withdrawal. [5:17] If it doesn't work, then we stay where we are. [5:18] Are you still going to Rome to conduct these talks? [5:21] And will those pilot zone withdrawals happen anytime soon? [5:24] Well, I certainly hope they're planned for the next few weeks. [5:27] We're working on that together with CENTCOM. [5:29] Am I still going to Rome? [5:31] That's going to be a question regarding the Senator Graham funeral. [5:35] But certainly the talks will continue in Rome. [5:37] Well, before I let you go, there were two high-profile incidents I want to quickly touch on here. [5:43] One, a CNN crew attacked in the West Bank by what they say were four settlers. [5:48] There was also an incident with Ro Khanna, the congressman from California, who said he was – his vehicles he was in were stopped by Israeli settlers. [5:57] And then when the IDF showed up, they were on the side of the settlers, not him. [6:00] He said it's not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates. [6:05] It was a warning to your government. [6:06] Do you think your government needs to apologize to both him and those CNN journalists? [6:12] Any violence is to be condemned. [6:14] No excuses, no explanations. [6:18] Okay? [6:18] So if CNN crew was attacked, that needs to be condemned, and I'm doing so right now. [6:22] And we need to do a better job – [6:23] You are condemning it, their report here on Monday. [6:25] If it was – actually took place as they've reported it, absolutely condemning it. [6:31] We need to rein in violence on all sides. [6:33] Now, in terms of Ro Khanna, we reached out to him when we heard he was going to Israel, the Israeli embassy here in Washington. [6:39] As all congressmen do, they coordinate their trip with the Israeli government. [6:44] We suggested he visit with survivors of the October 7th massacre, that he visit the borders so he understands the issues that we have on our borders, and so on. [6:55] He ignored that, and he decided to coordinate his trip, not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists, and with J Street, which is an anti-Israeli government advocacy group here in Washington. [7:08] So, you know, he coordinated – [7:10] It's a Jewish lobby group that is supportive of a different path for Israel. [7:15] Yeah, yeah. [7:16] I play tennis once a year. [7:18] That doesn't make me a tennis player. [7:19] The fact that they call themselves a Jewish organization is irrelevant. [7:24] They're an advocacy group against the government of Israel. [7:28] That has to be clear. [7:29] The current Netanyahu government. [7:30] Yes, yes. [7:31] That's what you mean. [7:31] The government you work for currently. [7:32] And Congressman Khanna has made no secret about his antipathy towards the government of Israel as well. [7:36] So, perhaps if he would have coordinated the trip, and then, you know, to have this incident on Wednesday and wait to release it on Saturday, maybe this had more something to do with his support of Graham Plattner beforehand and the difficulties he had with that, and trying to shift the focus to something else. [7:53] Perhaps. [7:54] I'm asking a question. [7:55] Well, we did hear from Congressman Khanna, who said that there was an alert to the embassy on his behalf, and that they asked for the news to be held until he had left the country as well. [8:04] There was a question. [8:05] There was not an alert. [8:06] There was a question about visas. [8:08] That's all. [8:09] But when we requested that he coordinate the trip with us, he rejected that by basically staying silent. [8:16] So, that's unfortunate. [8:17] This whole incident is unfortunate. [8:18] Yeah. [8:18] And if somebody, it's kind of interesting that somebody wants to declare a presidential run by running off to Israel. [8:24] Isn't that strange? [8:26] Well, we're going to have to leave it there, sir. [8:30] There's so much more to talk about with you, but I'm out of time. [8:33] Thank you.