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Former Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy has asserted that neutralising Tehran's military threats is a fundamental prerequisite for establishing a long-term economic partnership with India and ensuring the success of the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
In an interview with ANI, Levy stated that, "Ending the Iranian regime's ability to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, to bomb Dubai Airport, to bomb civilian and energy targets in the region is absolutely critical in order to build that shared prosperity and economic infrastructure with our friends in the region, most importantly with the great people of India." Highlighting the strategic importance of the trade route, which was a major point of global discussion prior to the October 7 attacks, Levy noted that for Israel, ensuring maritime and regional security is vital to developing the corridor. "For Israel, it is absolutely critical to ensure maritime and regional security so we can develop that trade corridor we've been trying to build for the last few years. Before the October 7th massacre, the world was talking about building a trade corridor that would go from India through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and connect it to Europe," he said. Levy accused the leadership in Tehran of deliberately attempting to sabotage these economic integration efforts to maintain regional instability. "The Iranian regime is trying to frustrate that trade corridor. It is trying to sow chaos and violence in the region so that the pro-stability actors in the region cannot grow and cannot prosper," the former spokesperson stated. Regarding reports of a 15-point diplomatic proposal sent by the United States to Iran aimed at ending the ongoing conflict, Levy expressed significant skepticism, suggesting the Iranian regime's ideological stance makes a peaceful resolution unlikely. "If there is a diplomatic agreement in which the Iranian regime that is sworn to death to America, death to Israel, agrees to stop being a threat and to be a peaceful actor, Israel will, of course, welcome that. But the Iranian regime is rejecting that. Unfortunately, I don't see any prospect for the Iranian regime accepting America's demands," he remarked. Delivering a blunt assessment of the military situation, the former spokesperson claimed that the Iranian leadership has been effectively incapacitated. "It's clear that the Iranian regime has lost the war. It lost its entire leadership in the first few seconds of the war. Since then, Israel and the United States have been systematically destroying the Iranian regime's ability to continue threatening its neighbours," he claimed. Levy pointed to the continued use of aerial weaponry by Tehran against civilian targets as justification for the ongoing military operations by the US and Israel. "We've seen how Iran has been firing missiles and drones into civilian areas, airports, energy, and infrastructure. Israel and the U.S. are systematically destroying that ability," he said. Despite these military setbacks, Levy warned that Tehran remains defiant and continues to reject negotiations while "laughing in the face of the United States." He observed, "They're rejecting negotiations. They think they are in a place to insist on demands. This is not over because the Iranian regime is not interested in stopping being a threat to its neighbours. It's not interested in stopping its nuclear program, ballistic missiles, support for proxy armies that have caused violence and terrorism across the region." (ANI)
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