Israeli envoy to US warns Iran could rebuild missile program with China's assistance

The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said on Thursday there were “troubling signs” that Iran could seek to rebuild its damaged missile program with assistance from China. He stressed that the Iranian regime’s goal remains to “destroy the Jewish state.”

“There's some traffic that is troubling for us... and we want to make sure that we're not dealing with chemicals [and] the ability to reconstitute a ballistic missile program,” Leiter said in an interview on the Voice of America (VOA).

The Israeli envoy’s warning comes a month after the Israeli military severely damaged Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities during Operation Rising Lion.

Earlier in July, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz assessed that Tehran’s nuclear military program was “mortally wounded” during last month’s Israeli and U.S. military offensive against Iran’s nuclear assets. However, Katz warned that Iran’s degraded missile program still constitutes a threat to Israel.

Senior Israeli officials estimate that Iran had advanced its plans before the war to triple its missile stock from around 2,500 to 8,000 missiles. Israeli intelligence now believes that Iran still maintains approximately 50% of its prewar missile stock. However, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) successfully eliminated many of the Iranian missiles, along with most of its missile launchers.

China has cultivated close commercial ties with both Iran and Israel. The Israeli ambassador maintained that the Jewish state could continue fostering positive relations with China despite its connections to the Iranian regime.

“There's no reason why we couldn't have good relations with the people of China,” Leiter stated in the VOA interview. However, he stressed that Jerusalem opposes any Chinese support for the ayatollah regime, which openly calls for Israel’s destruction.

“But we certainly don't want to see China acting alongside those who threaten our very existence. Let's not forget – even after the 12-day war, [Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei continues to say that his objective is to destroy the Jewish state. Why would anybody want to be partners with somebody who says they want to destroy a state?” Leiter said.

Like Russia, China publicly condemned IDF military strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military assets. However, neither China nor Russia offered any active or concrete assistance to the Iranian regime during the 12 days of war.

Leiter also addressed the regime's post-war arrest of Iranian Jews accused of being Israeli spies.

“There’s a reason why the vast majority of Iran's Jews have left... I hope and pray that the Jews left in Tehran are not being persecuted by the mullahs. I hope and pray that those who have been arrested have been released. I would suggest to the mullahs to look more closer to home if they're looking for people who compromise them than the Jewish community of Tehran," Leiter said.

The Israeli ambassador was likely alluding to reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been subject to infiltration by informers who are allegedly willing to cooperate with Israel and the Mossad.

Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to China in the hope of securing assistance through its formal alliance with China and Russia. While condemning the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, China and Russia have so far refrained from offering any tangible support to the Iranian regime.