Israel Embassy in Kenya says Iran poses 'existential threat to regional stability'

________________

The Embassy of Israel in Kenya has supported the joint pre-emptive strike by the US and the State of Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran, saying the state poses an 'existential threat to regional stability'.

“Despite sustained negotiations led by the international community, the leadership of the Islamic Republic, under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, continued activities that pose an existential threat to regional stability and to the security of the State of Israel,” Israel Ambassador to Kenya Gideon Behar said in a March 3, 2026, statement.

According to Behar, the action followed "months of diplomatic engagement and multilateral efforts aimed at preventing further escalation of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes" and that the operation was undertaken in response to the “continued advancement of Iranian atomic nuclear programme beyond internationally accepted civilian thresholds” and the “continued advancement of Iranian weapons, accelerated long-range ballistic missile production.”

The statement came on the heels of US and Israeli attacks on Iran, which began on Saturday, that killed the Iranian supreme leader, followed by Iranian counterattacks on Gulf states and Israel, leading to the closure of the airspace of several countries. The war showed no sign of abating as it entered its fourth day.

The embassy further accused Iran of “continued arming and financing of terror proxies surrounding Israel,” including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, Islamic Jihad, Shiite militias and “other terror groupings.”

It added that Iran had recently begun installing “military nuclear facilities and ballistic missile production deep underground to prevent their neutralisation within a short timeframe,” arguing that “it was, therefore, necessary to urgently neutralise these threats.”

The statement emphasised that the military action was directed at “strategic military and regime-linked targets, not at the Iranian population.”

It said the operation “will create the conditions for the Iranian people to take their future into their own hands and free themselves from the murderous regime that has oppressed and butchered them for 47 years.”

The embassy also cited reports by international human rights organisations alleging “widespread crackdowns on protests in recent years, resulting in significant civilian casualties, detentions and even brutal murders of over 45,000 of its citizens.”

Even after the February 28 strike, the embassy claimed that the Iranian regime’s “unprovoked attacks on all its Arab neighbours” show it “serves as the source of all wars in the region and poses a danger to the entire world.”

The embassy is expected to brief journalists in Nairobi today, March 4, 2026.