Israel has “not set a timetable” for “Operation Roaring Lion” against the Islamic Republic but instead defined objectives the campaign must achieve, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told i24News on Thursday.
“We hope it will be as short as possible, but we have goals and we are conducting the war toward achieving those goals,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat said in the interview.
“In this kind of campaign—one like we have never experienced before—patience, endurance and resilience are required. I’m convinced that the Israeli public, which understands the importance of this campaign, has all those qualities, despite difficulties it causes to everyday life,” he said.
According to Sa’ar, the diplomatic backing Jerusalem has received during the war, “at least at this moment,” has been “good.”
“Today, much more than before, even nations with which we had major disagreements over the past two years regarding the Palestinian issue and Gaza, like Australia or Canada, support us on this issue,” he said.
Asked by i24News whether Mojtaba Khamenei—the slain supreme leader’s son and a possible successor—was a target, Sa’ar said that “anyone who is part of this evil regime” could be targeted by the Jewish state.
“I certainly will not announce on air who is or is not in our sights,” Sa’ar said, adding that Jerusalem would continue to “target the leaders of this evil regime and its military capabilities.”
Despite ongoing rocket attacks from Tehran’s terrorist proxy army in Lebanon, Hezbollah, “the main front right now is Iran,” the minister said.
Iran is the one that maintains and sustains Hezbollah,” Sa’ar noted. “Just since the ceasefire in this past year, Iran has transferred $1.2 billion to Hezbollah. Iran also maintains Hamas and Islamic Jihad, more than it funded Hamas before the war, and also supports the Houthis,” he said.
“If there is no evil regime in Tehran, Hezbollah will also fall and collapse,” but “of course, we will also do what is necessary regarding Hezbollah,” he added.
On Monday, Sa’ar told Australian journalist Erin Molan he felt “proud” of his daughter after an Iranian missile struck close to her Tel Aviv-region home over the weekend, causing damage but leaving her unharmed.
“She acted bravely, helping a wounded person at the scene. I’m quite proud of how she handled those terrible circumstances,” he said.
In the interview, Sa’ar described Israel’s broader war aims, saying the “objective is to remove existential threats from Iran for the long term.”
That “cannot happen while this regime remains in power,” he said. “The campaign must create conditions for the Iranian people—the only ones who can replace this regime—by weakening it to the point where change becomes possible.”
He urged governments to sever ties with Tehran, praising Canada for cutting diplomatic ties in 2012 under then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and later banning Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2024.
“I hope that many governments in the world will take action by disconnecting from this regime,” Sa’ar said. “I think it is vital.”
