Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew all the way to Moscow on Jan. 29 to warn against an Iranian plan to build a precision missile plant in Lebanon. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu said, “I told [Putin] that the threat of precision weapons against Israel is a serious threat that we are not willing to accept, and if we have to act, we will act.” Netanyahu added that he had also told his host that Israel was determined to thwart the Iranian effort to “set the region on fire.” Nonetheless, he was careful to leave room for diplomatic maneuvering, stating, “Red lines have not been crossed yet.”
On the same day, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman addressed what he described as the “Iranian effort to form a noose around Israel,” noting that all recent wars in the region had involved “boots on the ground.” Like Netanyahu, he was careful to temper his remarks, adding, “The last thing I would want is a third Lebanon war.”
