Iran should ‘directly pay the price’ in Tehran if it attacks Israel: ex-Israeli PM

FILE – Then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs a cabinet meeting at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 26, 2022. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool via AP)

Iran should “directly pay the price” in its capital of Tehran if it follows through with an anticipated retaliatory attack on Israel, former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett says — an action that many fear could spark a wider war in the Middle East.

The world is anxiously waiting to see if Iran follows through on vows to attack Israel in response to an Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy in Syria last week that killed a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas Quds Force and six other officers.

Such an attack would escalate the existing conflict in the Middle East sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing Israeli military response in Gaza. The violence in Gaza has sparked attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen — groups that, like Hamas, are backed by the Iranian regime.

During an interview that will air in full on Sunday on The West Block, Bennett said Israel has long fought Iran through its proxies, including Hamas, which justified the Israeli strike in Syria.

“Iran is like an octopus of terror, whose head is in Tehran but then it sends its tentacles into Lebanon with Hezbollah terror organization, into Gaza with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad,” he told host Mercedes Stephenson.

Asked what he believed Israel should do in response to an attack from Iran, Bennett made clear the capital should be a target.

“If we are attacked — and we’re already being attacked by the proxies — I definitely think that Iran should directly pay the price in Tehran,” he said. “I also think that the free world can and should engage in an ongoing soft campaign to collapse the Iranian regime.”

Video: Iran vows revenge on Israel after Damascus embassy attack

The United States has vowed to support Israel in the event of an Iranian attack, which could include military assets.

Bennett said following through with an attack on Israel “would be detrimental to Iran” in the end.

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“Iran until now has enjoyed fighting a one-sided war (with Israel),” said. “We’re in a boxing ring and one side is hitting the other and the other is not responding.

“If they directly attack Israel, clearly Israel will retaliate. And what I’ve learned is that (the Iranian) regime, they’re very incompetent and corrupt and a lousy regime. The people despise it. They don’t like incurring losses, and they have a lot to lose.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bennett defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and said he was “disappointed” in Canada’s position on the conflict.

Canada has called for an immediate ceasefire and urged Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. The House of Commons passed a non-binding motion last month with support from most Liberal MPs that said Canada should cease further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel, which the government later followed through on.

“We expect friends to be with us not when it’s easy, but when it’s tough,” Bennett said.

Watch the full interview with Bennett on The West Block on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.