‘Greater Israel’ Project Thrives on Dependent Rulers: Former Diplomat
Mohammadreza Bagheri, former deputy foreign minister and Iran’s ex-ambassador to Kuwait, said the scheme of "Greater Israel" is not new but deeply rooted in Zionist ideology.
“Claims to occupied territories are nothing new. Even before the regime’s creation in 1947, Zionists were speaking of lands they believed belonged to them and must be taken,” Bagheri said.
He noted that Israel’s territorial expansion was facilitated by Western backing. “With the help of countries such as the United States and Britain, they were able to seize more land and gradually expand their control over Palestine. Now, they not only hold onto the occupied areas but also claim parts of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and beyond,” he added.
Bagheri maintained that Israeli ambitions extend well beyond internationally recognized borders. “Today, as Islamic and Arab countries appear weaker, Zionists see an opportunity to pursue these goals. The main factor behind this situation is dependent rulers and weak foreign policies,” he said.
His remarks follow comments by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently said he “very much” identifies with the “Greater Israel” vision, after receiving an amulet symbolizing the “promised land” from a former lawmaker. The statement triggered criticism from several Arab states.
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The concept has long circulated among ultranationalist circles in the Israeli regime. Its interpretations vary, but many describe it as a vision of territorial expansion encompassing Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan, along with large parts of Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Some use the term more narrowly to refer to territories occupied in 1967: the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The roots of the idea stretch back to Theodor Herzl, the father of political Zionism, who wrote in his diaries that a Jewish state should extend “from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates.”
Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War marked the first major military expansion, resulting in the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights, and Sinai. While Sinai was later returned to Egypt, the war reinforced religious Zionist claims to “Greater Israel”. The “Movement for Greater Israel,” a political party active in the 1970s, campaigned to retain and settle captured territories.
Under the current Israeli cabinet, such ideas have resurfaced more explicitly. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has publicly advocated for expansion, even suggesting that Israel’s future borders should reach Damascus. He has denied the existence of the Palestinian people and appeared at events featuring maps depicting Israel extended into Jordan.
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During the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, Israeli soldiers have displayed patches showing the Greater Israel map, while several politicians have openly called for permanent control of Palestinian lands. Netanyahu’s recent remarks, analysts say, underline that this once fringe ideology now resonates at the highest levels of the regime.
Bagheri, however, insisted that such ambitions miscalculate the region’s realities. “Although some rulers may stay silent, the consequences of aggressive actions will also be serious for them,” he said.
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