Iran’s missile program is an “existential threat” to the United States, warned Harley Lippman, Founder and CEO of Genesis10 and longtime diplomatic emissary, at the opening gala of the Jerusalem Post New York Conference.
"Iran has medium-range missiles that they use to reach Israel. But they are building intercontinental ballistic missiles that have only one address. And that’s the United States. And these missiles are designed with one purpose-and that’s to have nuclear warheads,” Lippman told the crowd.
“I can’t remember a time, perhaps right before June 1967 or in October 1973, where Israel hangs in the balance like it does today,” he said.
Iran, for close to 50 years, has been chanting death to America, similar to what Hamas said about Israel and Jews, he noted. “We didn’t pay attention. America needs to pay attention.”
Iran, he continued, has been targeting America since the Ayatollahs took control of the country- taking the US embassy hostage, helping blow up the Marine compound in Beirut, and “bled” America in Afghanistan and Iraq.
According to Lippman, a regular geopolitical commentator on international news networks, “it’s important to convey this message and establish the facts. It has to be made clear that it was not Israel that pushed America to join the war.”
According to him, it was Trump who first mentioned bombing Iran in the 1980s, whereas it was only in the 1990s that Benjamin Netanyahu began talking about that.
“It’s important to get it right about Israel not dragging America into war,” he stated, pointing to an increase of antisemitism.
Lippman also touched on the possible agreement with Iran, noting that he was “very worried” because Trump has leverage over Iran that should not be squandered. Operation Epic Fury hit Iran hard, he said, yet “Trump has to finish the job.”
But, unlike Israel, he said, “he stops fighting and then negotiates. Israelis know very well that you can negotiate, but you need leverage, you need to keep fighting. Because only with that kind of military pressure do you have any chance to have any real meaningful agreement.”
“This war is not over. We have to be vigilant. And if we learned anything from October 7th, it’s that if people say they want to kill you, you have to listen. And Iran's mission from the very beginning was to do that, and we have to do everything possible to make sure that Iran is not able to destroy Israel.”
Yet, he told the crowd, “We are not the Jews of the 1930s, where we were powerless. We are going to prevail, be strong, and prosper.”