- Israeli ambassador has said that US and Israel share common goals despite perceived "gaps" in alliance
- Iran's strike on Qatar's gas fields comes after an Israeli attack on Iran's South Pars section
- US President Trump has warned of massive retaliation on South Pars gas field against Iran
The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz will be resolved "as fast as more countries "come and step to the plate to engage with this effort, Israel's Ambassador to India Reuven Azar has told NDTV.
Iran's latest strike on Qatar's section of the South Pars gas fields in Ras Laffan following an Israeli strike on the Iranian portion, has alarmed the global community and increased the possibility of the situation in the choked Hormuz Strait spinning out of control.
Read: Iran Attacks World's Biggest Gas Hub In Qatar. How It Affects India
Asked about the matter, Azar told NDTV's Shiv Aroor: "My answer is very simple. As fast as more countries come and step to the plate to engage with this effort to restore order and to send a very clear message to this regime - that what they are doing is unacceptable - the crisis will end sooner".
If these nations, he said, "continue sitting on the fence, then they can only complain to themselves why this is taking so long".
Asked if matters can reach a point where the international community ends up wondering if nobody is in control of the situation, he said: "I'm sure the countries in the region are very interested to see the Iranian threat removed".
Read: NATO Allies Discuss Strategies To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz Amid Oil Concerns
"At the end of the day, if you want to be an outsider, then your influence on calling the shots is going to be lesser. So, it is up to each and every country to decide to what extent they want to be involved," Azar said. "We hope that they get involved in a way that will be conducive to the interests of the international community," he added.
The events following the Israeli strike have escalated fast. In his response, US President Donald Trump has said: "The United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before."
Trump has also said that he was not aware of the Israeli strikes -- a claim that has been taken with a pinch of salt by the US media, in view of the fact that the US government officials said that President Trump had already given his approval.
Read: 'No More Israeli Attacks Unless...': Trump After Iran Hits Qatar's LNG Plant
Describing the situation as a "gap", Azar said "People are always looking for a gap between Israel and the United States. But I think that people are overstating this". The US and Israel, he added, have common goals.
Asked whether Israel will listen to Trump's all-capped warning on his social media site Truth Social that there be no more such strikes, Azar said, "We always take into account the opinion of our biggest ally, because we have a lot of trust, because I think we have a common interest".
