Israel is being targeted by “Iran’s evil empire” even as it continues to pursue peace with its neighbors, President Isaac Herzog said on Monday.

The Jewish state faces a “moment of profound challenge,” said Herzog during his address on the second day of the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem.

“For over two-and-a-half years of war, the State of Israel has faced major threats, heart-breaking tragedies and tremendous achievements,” he said. “As we speak, the courageous women and men of the Israel Defense Forces are defending our borders, our homes, our families, from those who seek to harm us.” He expressed his “love and blessings” to those defending the country’s borders.

With regard to Iran, Herzog said Israel was “not opposed to a diplomatic outcome—on the contrary, we seek peace,” adding, “We dream of peace on all frontiers.”

However, he continued, “Recent developments are generating serious legitimate concerns in Israel; concerns which must be addressed, because we in Israel are in the line of fire. We are the ones being targeted by Iran’s empire of evil and its proxies.”

He noted that the Islamic Republic has for decades threatened to annihilate the world’s only Jewish state, and called Tehran’s nuclear ambitions a “tangible threat” to Israel and world peace.

“Across the region, from Iran, to Lebanon, to Gaza, our enemies are seeking to rebuild, rearm and evolve,” Herzog warned.

While U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have “correctly, repeatedly made clear that Iran is a threat to world peace,” he said, “we must also address concerns regarding the financial components of the deal with Iran in order to prevent funds, which Iran will supposedly receive, from being funneled toward its war machine and its proxies.”

Turning toward Lebanon, Herzog said the conflict with Iranian-backed Hezbollah should be resolved through direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut, “and not by Iranian extortion.”

Herzog expressed his wish to “broaden the circle of peace” with Arab and Muslim nations under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.

“Together, we can build a region of bridges rather than barriers. Together, we can prove that peace is not a dream for the naive, but a strategy for the strong,” he declared.

The 2026 JNS International Policy Summit, which was preceded by a weekend VIP gathering and tours around Judea, comes one year after the inaugural JNS Summit held in Jerusalem.

The three-day conference will include addresses and panels on U.S.-Israel relations, the war with Iran, Israel’s military, diplomatic and legal battles, the wave of global antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, as well as relations with the Christian world.