Israel and the United States have set no timeline for their joint military campaign against Iran, Israel’s foreign minister said on Sunday, describing the strikes that began on Saturday as an effort to weaken the country’s leadership.
Speaking to Euronews, Gideon Sa'ar said the operation would continue without a fixed end date.
“So there is no time like the operation there. There is no timeline that you're looking at. There is no timeline of this operation. Now, we hadn't gave to ourselves timeline,” Sa’ar said.
“Naturally, we want it to be as short as possible. This is clear. But we didn't put to ourselves any timeline,” he added.
Sa’ar described the campaign as coordinated fully with Washington.
“It’s not that they [the United States] support us. They are working with us hand in hand, working together to achieve the same goals we are. It's, it's a, it's a mutual operation,” he said.
Minister urges Iranians to shape future
Sa’ar framed the offensive as aimed at countering what he described as long-term threats to Israel while opening space for change inside Iran.
“I also tell the Iranian people they have an opportunity now. They have an opportunity to regain their freedom, which was denied by this murderous regime that repressed them so cruelly. And I hope they will be able to do it,” he said.
Sa’ar said Israel would not attempt to choose Iran’s next leadership.
“We are not, we are not intervening with who will be the next leader of Iran. That will be decided by the Iranian people themselves, hopefully in like free elections, that's the best thing that can happen,” he said.
“Our only requirement is that anyone who will be in power will not work to eliminate the state of Israel. This is enough for us,” he added.
Sa’ar confirmed that the strikes resulted in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom he said directed repression at home and backed armed groups hostile to Israel.
“He was the supreme leader of Iran but it was a mega terrorist personally gave order for terror actions around the world,” Sa’ar said.
Sa’ar rejected criticism that the operation violates international law.
“This is totally justified by international law because international law justifies self-defense and someone who is… swearing and acting in order to eliminate another state. This state shouldn't wait until it will happen,” he said.
Duration uncertain
Sa’ar declined to predict how long the campaign would last.
“I don't want to be a prophet and to say how many days we are decisive to reach,” he said.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it would mobilize 100,000 reservists as strikes continue.
Sa’ar argued that any political shift in Iran would depend on domestic will rather than outside orchestration.
“Something is the most important thing here is connected to the will of the Iranian people. It's not something you can orchestrate from outside when you don't have a real will of the Iranian people,” he said.
