Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he felt “proud” of his daughter’s conduct after an Iranian missile struck near her Tel Aviv-area apartment over the weekend, causing significant damage but leaving her unharmed.
Speaking Monday in an interview with Australian journalist Erin Molan, Sa’ar said he was in a meeting when he learned that a missile had landed in Tel Aviv, where much of his family lives.
“When I left the meeting, I found out that her apartment was badly damaged. Fortunately, she and her fiancé are okay,” he said. “There was damage to the flat, and they temporarily moved to his parents’ home. She acted bravely, helping a wounded person at the scene. I’m quite proud of how she handled those terrible circumstances.”
The strike was part of the barrages Iran has launched at Israel since Saturday, when Jerusalem initiated Operation “Roaring Lion” alongside the United States, which calls its component Operation “Epic Fury,” targeting Tehran’s military and nuclear capabilities.
Sa’ar noted that 10 people have been killed in Israel in rocket attacks, including nine in Beit Shemesh on Sunday. Two additional people have died while rushing to shelters.
“In one case, a mother and child were killed in the same attack. It is horrible,” he said. “They deliberately target civilians and civilian population centers, while we target the heads of the regime, security apparatus, military industry and military facilities.”
The foreign minister described the Iranian regime as “dangerous to its own people” and “dangerous to the entire region and the world,” noting that the Islamic Republic is also striking neighboring Gulf states.
During 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 also urged governments to sever ties with Tehran, praising Canada for cutting diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, under then Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party, and later banning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2024.
“I hope that many governments in the world will take action by disconnecting from this regime,” he said. “I think it is vital.”
Molan asked Sa’ar to respond to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who said Israel and the U.S. should have debated striking Iran at the U.N. for the sake of “legitimacy.”
Debate, Sa’ar said, “would have made it harder” to achieve the secrecy that led to the elimination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and his top command on Saturday, in the initial hours of “Roaring Lion.”
“I had a good conversation with the French minister, and I hope they take diplomatic steps to isolate and delegitimize the [Iranian] regime. European ministers are deeply worried about Iranian long-range missiles that could reach Europe,” Sa’ar said.
On Sunday, two missiles or drones believed to be from Iran, or its proxy Hezbollah, were fired in the direction of Cyprus toward British bases, including RAF Akrotiri, on the island, The Guardian reported. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday said he had decided to grant U.S. forces the use of British bases to hit Iran’s ballistic capabilities.
Molan asked Sa’ar: “Do you trust the United Kingdom?” To which he replied: “I trust the IDF.”
Addressing Hezbollah’s renewed rocket fire from Lebanon, Sa’ar said, “Lebanon cannot be free until Hezbollah is dismantled,” but emphasized that Israel remains focused on Iran, which he called “the head of the snake.”
