( Just the News )
Retired Israeli Gen. Amir Avivi says the United States must take a leading role in crafting an anti-Iranian coalition to prevent the consolidation of a Chinese-Russian bloc with Tehran that would destabilize the Middle East.
"We have seen a huge change in the last year," Avivi, now chairman of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told the Just the News, No Noise television show broadcast Friday from the National Religious Broadcasters Conference in Orlando, Fla.
"We're seeing an emergence of a Russian-Chinese-Iranian bloc in the Middle East, and they are feeling that the West is not willing to fight."
Concerns about U.S. adversaries strengthening ties have grown under the Biden administration.
In March, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its Annual Threat Assessment that pointed to a "complex and pivotal international security environment" facing Washington.
Russia has strengthened its military and infrastructure ties with the Islamic Republic. And Tehran has supplied its Shahed kamikaze drones to Moscow for use in Ukraine, while Russia has invested in Iranian infrastructure to build a trade network linking the Persian Gulf to the Baltic Sea.
Avivi noted such developments and contended that the bloc was increasingly active in geopolitical hotspots, vying for influence.
"So they are pushing hard, you know, in the Pacific, in Europe, but also in the Middle East. And this is destabilizing the whole region," he said. "And what I said in Washington is that we need U.S. leadership. We need the U.S. to lead the coalition to pose a military threat on Iran. And by doing this, they will also manage to deter the Chinese in the Pacific and the Russians in Europe."
Israel has long sought western support for its so-called proxy war with Iran, which has gone on for decade and is also considered a destabilizing factor the region.
Among Israel's concerns and fears about the Iran is that the Muslin country does not recognize Israel as a nation state and that it continues to fund and train terror-related groups that have vowed to carry out attacks on Israel.
Israel, as a result, has led international efforts to stop Iran's development of a nuclear weapon.
"So really by allying with Israel, with the Sunni world, we can really build deterrence again in the globe, and also achieve peace," Avivi also said. "The Saudis really want to push for the peace agreement with Israel. They won't do that without the U.S. stepping forward and willing to be part of this coalition defending the Middle East."
In early march of this year, China made a surprise announcement that it had successfully negotiated an arrangement between Iran and Saudi Arabia in which each nation would establish embassies in the other's territory and resume normal diplomatic relations.
"Israel, at the end of the day, if needed, will defend itself by itself. We're ready to do that. But if Israel goes along to war, this will bring the whole region into chaos," Avivi also said. "That will impact the whole globe. Yeah, that's not a good solution. So we're hoping that we'll see a change soon."