Tsahkna: You cannot say that the war in Iran is not our war too
Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said the war started by the United States and Israel in Iran can also be considered Estonia's war, and that Estonia supports both countries' activities that reduce the capabilities of the Iranian regime.
Speaking at the government's weekly press conference on Thursday, Tsahkna said it is important that the Iranian regime is weakened as it is one of Russia's main supporters.
Earlier in the week, the minister said Estonia is ready to discuss how it can contribute to the U.S.' mission to keep the Strait of Hormuz open if an official request is made by Washington.
"My message was that Estonia has supported and clearly continues to support both Israel and the United States in all actions that reduce the capabilities of the Iranian regime, not only in terms of nuclear weapons but more broadly in military terms. And from our perspective, I cannot say that this war there is in any way not our war," Tsahkna told the media.
"Let us be honest, Iran has been one of the main supporters of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Likewise, Russia today supports Iran, for example, with intelligence against U.S. targets. I also received confirmation of this while speaking with officials. Therefore, it is very important for us that the Iranian regime is weakened," he added.
The minister said he had just returned from an official visit to Israel.
"The situation in the region is highly escalatory. I understand very clearly what Israel is doing. I also received briefings from both the Israeli foreign minister and the Israeli president on their plans. They are very clearly taking advantage of the opportunity that the United States has provided them to weaken the Iranian regime as much as possible," Tsahkna said.
"They have targeted hundreds of different targets. They are taking down leadership, eliminating commanders and leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and in the longer term, the aim is to enable the Iranian people themselves to bring about regime change, although they themselves do not currently see that happening," the minister continued.
Tsahkna said he was also briefed on military activity directed against Lebanon.
"Their plan is to reduce the capabilities of Hezbollah — which we have long classified as a terrorist organization — at least near their border to a minimum, which also means that military tensions across the region have increased significantly," he said.
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Editor: Helen Wright, Aleksander Krjukov
