Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., said diplomacy with Iran is premature and that diplomacy will begin after the war ends.
On the 5th (local time), Danon held a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York and said, "Israel must first eliminate Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missiles, its regional proxies, and maritime threats."
Regarding reports that the United States and Iran are engaged in back-channel talks, Danon said, "I don't know the details," but dismissed them by adding, "When the war ends, diplomacy will begin and we know we will have to talk about Iran's future. But not yet."
Danon went on to stress that Israel must dismantle Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities before engaging in diplomacy and criticized that Iran's threat poses danger not only to Israel but to all neighboring countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Oman.
He also asked the Israeli public and neighboring countries to be patient, saying it is only a matter of time before Iran's missile attacks are minimized and its military power is weakened.
He said, "Strikes on Iranian launchers are proving effective," adding, "Give us just a few more days, and it will become far more difficult for Iran to disrupt ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz."
Danon also answered a question about U.S. President Donald Trump's reported "preemptive strike on Iran" by citing North Korea, saying it was "very similar."
He said, "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team was dispatched, and one morning we saw them (North Korea) declare they had nuclear capability," adding, "President Trump's decision to prevent Iran from one morning announcing it has nuclear capability like North Korea deserves praise."