Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon said Saturday on Newsmax’s "The Count" that Iran’s leadership is "totally detached from reality," praising recent U.S. strikes while arguing the regime’s actions have destabilized the Middle East and could ultimately lead to its downfall.
Reacting to strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, Ayalon called the operation "very impressive because it’s very precise," highlighting what he described as "the prowess and the skill of the U.S. military machine, the Air Force, and everything that goes with it ... intelligence, technology."
He said it was "very judicious to attack and get only the military installations and spare the oil installations, because we may need it later on."
"I think that the Iranian regime is totally detached from reality," Ayalon said.
"And at the end of the day, probably they will fall," he added.
Ayalon said preserving Iran’s energy infrastructure could help the country recover if its people eventually reclaim control from the current government.
"If we expect and hope that the Iranians will be able to retake their country from this regime, they’re going to have to need a functioning economy," he said.
The former ambassador also argued Iran has made "strategic mistakes" by confronting neighboring countries.
"They also have made such strategic mistakes by attacking everything that moves around them," Ayalon said, adding the regime has "ignited basically a Shiite-Sunni war."
He further accused Iran of sponsoring attacks beyond the region.
"They see that they have no regard, not only they don’t have regard to human lives in their own country, but not in the neighboring countries and throughout the world," he said.
"They also are now perpetrating terror attacks throughout Europe, in Amsterdam, and even in Michigan."
Calling Iran "a very murderous regime," Ayalon said it has spent decades "destabilizing" the Middle East and the broader world.
"I think it is more than symbolic that after 47 years of this terror regime, we have the 47th president of the United States bringing them justice and freeing the Iranian people and the entire Middle East," he said.
Ayalon also addressed reports that Israel could expand ground operations in Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah.
"This is certainly in the cards on the table so long as Hezbollah will continue to indiscriminately shell our communities," he said, noting the group "only point[s] at us — at civilians."
He described Hezbollah as operating "under instructions of Iran," adding, "Just as the people of Iran deserve a democratic, better government, so the people of Lebanon deserve to get rid of Hezbollah."
Ayalon also said Iran has repeatedly attempted to target American leaders.
"As far as I know, they have tried more than once," he said when asked about reports of an Iranian plot against President Donald Trump.
"Trump is not the first president they’re trying to go after, it was also George W. Bush."
He argued Iran has been responsible for the deaths of "tens of thousands of Americans throughout the Middle East and beyond" since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"They have tried to go on the United States and kill it with a thousand cuts," Ayalon said, adding he believes the regime will ultimately fail.
"Hopefully the end of this barbaric regime is very soon," he said.
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