Speech delivered in Monaco on April 29, 2026, during the celebration of the 78th anniversary of Israel’s independence organized by the Monaco-Israel Friendship Association

I would like to speak this evening about a war that is widely misunderstood—because it is viewed from too close a distance.

Since October 7, 2023, people have been commenting on events, analyzing operations, reacting to images. But they forget to ask the essential question: where does this war come from?

The primary source of violence and instability in the Middle East today is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

For more than forty years, this regime has pursued a structured project: to eliminate the State of Israel and to impose a regional domination based on a radical Shiite religious ideology.

To understand this project, one must take its ideological foundation seriously.

The doctrine of the Twelfth Imam—the Mahdi—is central.

According to this belief, his return will inaugurate an era of universal Islamic domination.

In this perspective, chaos is not an accident. It is seen as a catalyst.

And the elimination of Israel is conceived as a step toward that end.

This vision does not remain at the level of ideas. It translates into strategy.

Iran has built a network of militias and armed groups: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

It finances them, arms them, trains them, and coordinates them.

It is developing long-range ballistic missiles, drones, cyberattack capabilities, and pursuing a military nuclear program.

And in some cases, it exercises direct control over states. Lebanon is the most obvious example. In Iraq, this influence is deeply embedded in the security apparatus and in political life.

What Iran calls the “axis of resistance” is in reality an axis of aggression.

A system of encirclement that we in Israel call the “ring of fire.”

And this ring does not target Israel alone.

The Iranian regime is part of a broader vision, influenced in particular by the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood: the idea that the disappearance of Israel would be a step toward a broader victory of political Islam over the West, including in its Christian dimension.

Israel is the immediate target. But it is also a frontline.

In this context, one must be very clear on a key legal point.

Israel’s military actions against Iran and its regional militias fall under the right of self-defense, as recognized by Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

This right is not limited to responding to an ongoing invasion.

It applies in the face of a continuous, structured, cumulative threat.

State practice shows that a country does not have to wait to be struck in a decisive way when it is confronted with a persistent and organized threat.

Israel faces repeated attacks, military encirclement, and a declared intention of destruction.

Under these conditions, claiming that its actions would be illegal is legally false.

The question, therefore, is not whether Israel has the right to defend itself. It does.

The real question is whether........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)