AMBASSADOR MICHAEL OREN ON "THE SITUATION ROOM" WITH WOLF BLITZER

CNN, OCTOBER 12, 2011

BLITZER:  Joining us now is the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.

Mr. Ambassador, thanks very much for coming in.

OREN:  Wolf, good to be here as always.

BLITZER:  What have U.S. officials told you about this alleged plot to bomb your embassy here in Washington?

OREN:  Well, first of all, we very much applaud the success of American intelligence and law enforcement officials in thwarting this heinous plot.  We are in close communication with them as always.  And I wouldn't want to jeopardize their further investigation by going into details, but we are in close communication.

BLITZER:  But was this a serious plot?  Was it just a little talk?  Were there actual plans to go to your embassy and blow it up?

What can you tell us?

OREN:  Well, you can never underestimate the Iranian regime.

This is the Iranian regime which is -- which is to get killing American soldiers in Iraq, whose president appeared before the general assembly a month after 9/11 and blamed the United States for destroying the twin towers, and has killed American servicemen in Saudi Arabia and just about everywhere.

And this is the Iranian regime that supports Hezbollah, Hamas, that has fired thousands of rockets at Israelis and killed hundreds of Israelis through suicide bombers.  We can never be anything but vigilant and take these threats very, very seriously.

BLITZER:  But was it just talk, very preliminary stage, or was there an actual blueprint based on the information you're getting?

How serious -- how advanced was this alleged attempt to blow up the embassy?

OREN:  We take it very seriously, Wolf.  We take it very seriously and we take the steps in accordance with that seriousness.

We are always on alert.  We're very vigilant.  Here in Washington as we are in Israeli where again these thousands of Iranian supplied rockets in the hands of Iranian-backed terrorists are aimed at our neighborhoods and our homes.

BLITZER:  Because the Iranian government flatly denies all of these allegations.  They accuse the Obama administration of fabricating all of this and they say there's absolutely no truth to any of it.

OREN:  Just like they denied blowing up the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed over 100 people, they're always going to deny it.  But we know that Iran is the world's leading supporter of terror and we have to take everything seriously.  When the Iranian leaders say they're going to wipe Israel off the map, when they say they're going to try -- they're developing nuclear power, we have to take it seriously.  They're doing all this without nuclear weapons, Wolf.  Imagine what they'd do -- what they would do if they haven't --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER:  So the Obama administration is trying to ratchet up sanctions against the Iranian government.  What is the Israeli government planning on doing in the aftermath of this alleged plot?

OREN:  Well, we support the president's plan on sanctions.  The sanctions have taken a big chunk out of the Iranian economy.  We haven't seen that the sanctions have dampened the Iranian leader's appetite for terror or for nuclear power, and our position and the position of the United States of America, is that all options are on the table.  And we --

BLITZER:  Including the military options?

OREN:  All options are on the table and we want people in Tehran who are sponsoring this terror, who are trying to build nuclear weapons, we want them to believe us when we say that all options are on the table.

BLITZER:  Sanctions, really -- let's be honest, haven't really stopped the Iranians by any means, have they?

OREN:  As I said, they've taken a big chunk out of the economy, they've taken a big chunk out of the Iranian currency.  They're causing them real pain.  We want to be able to see that it's actually effectively deterring them either from sponsoring terror but particularly from pursuing nuclear weapons.

BLITZER:  Let's talk about this other story that's developing, a huge story, a major controversy in Israel, this prisoner exchange between your government, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, an organization you consider to be a terrorist organization.

Yet Prime Minister Netanyahu is negotiating with Hamas for the release of an Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.  He's been held, what, for five years by Hamas.  And you're about to release a thousand or so Palestinian prisoners in change for Gilad Shalit?

OREN:  Well, first of all, keep in mind, it's not just Israel that lists Hamas a terrorist organization.  It's also the United States, it's the European Union, the international community considers for the most part Hamas to be a terrorist negotiation.  And we're not negotiating with Hamas, we're negotiating through the good offices of the Egyptians and the Germans.  And we're very appreciative of their contributions to this.

Listen, it's a tough call.  And Gilad Shalit is a soldier.  You know in Israel, we have a citizen's army.  We all have kids in the Army.  I've had three kids in the army now.  And Gilad Shalit is like a son to each and every one of us.  And our soldiers have to know that when we send them out to the field of battle, to risk their lives for us, they have to know that if, God forbid, they fall captive, that the state of Israel is going to do everything in its power to try to get them back.

It's a hard call.  We know that by releasing terrorists we're taking a terrible risk, but we also know that we have a contract with our soldiers that we're going to do the utmost to get them back and Gilad Shalit literally is like our son.

BLITZER:  But some of these prisoners that you're about a release have blood on their hands.  They're convicted of killing Israelis and terrorist actions.  Don't you think the families of those victims are going to be upset about all of this releasing these prisoners?

OREN:  Undoubtedly.  And again it's a hard call for Prime Minister Netanyahu to make.  But look, it was a brave call, it was a strong call.  He has to go out and face those families.  Not an easy-- not an easy thing to do, but he has to do this in order --

BLITZER:  Doesn't this encourage the taking of more Israeli so- called soldiers to plan for down the road for more of these kinds of swaps?

OREN:  Well, there have been attempts to kidnap Israelis over the course of many decades now.  And we know that they're always trying and we have to be very aware and very sensitive to it and our soldiers and our civilians are all instructed to take the necessary precautions.  And they haven't succeeded for the last five years, though they've tried many, many times.

Again, we live in a tough neighborhood and our soldiers have to know that when they go out to fight for us, we're going to be right behind them with everything we have.

BLITZER:  When is this exchange going to happen?

OREN:  The next few days.  Again I can't go into details about it, but we hope to have Gilad home soon, reunited with his family.

Early as possible.

BLITZER:  And these Palestinian prisoners would go to Gaza, is that what would happen?

OREN:  Some would go away from Gaza, not be actually returned to their homes.  Some of them would actually be sent abroad.

BLITZER:  Sent abroad.

OREN:  That's the deal.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER:  And this wouldn't be the first time you've had a lopsided swap like this in Israel's history.

OREN:  Well, it's lopsided because we value human life.  That's what we're about.  As I say, we care about our citizens, we certainly about our soldiers, about our children.  That's what distinguishes us from the terrorists.  They say they honor death and we honor life, well, I'll second that.  It's absolutely true.

BLITZER:  Mr. Ambassador, thanks for coming in.

OREN:  As always.

BLITZER:  Appreciate it.

###