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Israeli FM says 'no timeline' set for Iran attack as he calls on Iranians to 'seize their fate'
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar told Euronews in an interview that the military strikes conducted alongside the United States designed to 'create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands'.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/03/01/israeli-fm-says-no-timeline-set-for-iran-attack-as-he-calls-on-iranians-to-seize-their-fat
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Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar told Euronews in an interview that the military strikes conducted alongside the United States designed to 'create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands'.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/03/01/israeli-fm-says-no-timeline-set-for-iran-attack-as-he-calls-on-iranians-to-seize-their-fat
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:02Welcome to this Euronews special report, and we are joined live by the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
00:09Sir, thank you very much for joining us on Euronews.
00:12Of course, a military operation led by the U.S. and Israel is still ongoing.
00:17But what is the latest that you can share with us on the ground?
00:22Yeah, we had intensified the attacks on the Iranian regime during the day.
00:30We will conclude it at the end of this day, but it's clear that it's significantly weakened.
00:38And I also tell the Iranian people they have an opportunity now.
00:43They have an opportunity to regain their freedom, which was denied by this murderous regime.
00:51That repressed them so cruelly, and I hope they will be able to do it.
00:56And we're going to get into the politics in a second.
00:58But, Minister, what kind of operational details can you also share with us in terms of the precision by which
01:04you were able to not just locate,
01:05but really hit the heart of this compound, resulting in the killing of the supreme leader?
01:14Calling this person the supreme leader, which is correct.
01:17He was the supreme leader of Iran, but he was a mega-terrorist, personally gave order for terror actions around
01:25the world.
01:26He just heard the announcement from Argentina about the terror attacks he was responsible for during the 90s in this
01:35country.
01:35But he was also the person that gave the orders to repress the Iranian people themselves.
01:41And, of course, he was the one that was leading the ideology and the intent of Iran to eliminate the
01:52state of Israel.
01:53And not only by declarations and as an ideological matter, but also practically by sponsoring, by training, by financing the
02:07terror organizations around us,
02:09like Hezbollah, like Hamas, like the Houthis, with all with the same intent to eliminate the state of Israel.
02:17So we were able to take out this dangerous person and also quite a significant number of persons from the
02:31establishment of the revolutionary gods
02:33that were designated, as I mentioned, not a very long time ago by the European Union as a terror organization.
02:42And we did it while two discussions in Tehran took place about how to further repress the protest of the
02:56Iranian people against the regime.
02:59They were taken out while discussing this issue.
03:03But can you tell us, and I know this is delicate, but can you tell us how long in the
03:07meek this operation has been
03:09and what made you think this was the right time?
03:13It was clearly the right time because of, first of all, we had the intelligence and we share it with
03:22our American friends
03:24that they plan to move the nuclear program to a deep underground, to a deep place below the ground,
03:34when actually it will be immune from air force attacks and also to do the same thing with the high
03:46numbers of missiles,
03:51long-range missiles production.
03:52So we had to do it now before a very dangerous fact was created.
04:01That's one thing.
04:03But on the other hand, it was important also to address the expectations of the Iranian people
04:10that heroically fought for their freedom and expected some help from outside.
04:16So for our, I admit, we had, of course, security concerns.
04:23We have national interests because we determined that this regime,
04:30which is the most dangerous regime in the world, won't have nuclear weapons.
04:34But at the same time, other things happened during the last month.
04:37So all these things, after negotiations with the Americans, made it clear for, I don't know, what is the...
04:47They made it clear time and again that they are not intent to get to a reasonable deal
04:53to get rid of this nuclear ambitions they had,
04:57or to compromise over the issue of long-range ballistic missiles that threatened also Europe,
05:03that we need to act.
05:04Okay, and it seems clear, too, that the Trump administration got fed up,
05:07even though some would say, this is why I stress the question of the timing,
05:10that Iran now was ready to sit at the table, and that is not the assessment that you make.
05:14But I want to read you two quotes, because at this point, President Trump repeated,
05:19this is the one time, the one chance, the best chance that the Iranian people may get
05:24to take over their country.
05:25And Prime Minister Netanyahu also said the same thing.
05:28He said, you need to now take your fate in your hands.
05:31It is obvious now that this is a call for regime change.
05:33What makes you think that you can achieve this?
05:35Because a regime change does not happen overnight, and certainly not just from the air.
05:41Well, of course, this is something that the Iranian people will achieve effectively,
05:50and finally, it is up to them.
05:53But we need to create the conditions and to weaken this repressive regime to such extent that it will be
06:04possible.
06:05It was not possible, even though there were millions in the streets,
06:11it was not possible without any kind of help, because it's a very brutal regime.
06:16But, Minister, when you talk about the conditions, obviously that would imply...
06:21It might happen.
06:22It might happen during this operation.
06:25It might happen after this operation, not necessarily during the operation.
06:29But the operation will weaken this vicious regime to the extent that it will be possible for the Iranian people
06:38to take their future in their hands again.
06:43And at this point, since you mentioned it may not happen in this operation,
06:46are we looking at an operation that is days, weeks, or ultimately it's open-ended warfare?
06:51There are no limits until that regime change is achieved.
06:53It seems very clear that that is the goal for your side.
06:57The goal, I want to make it clear.
06:59What is the goal?
07:00The goal is to remove, for the long term, existential threats from the state of Israel.
07:08Because we have a regime that have a decisive decision to eliminate the state of Israel,
07:15we cannot achieve it while he's in power.
07:18So, we were forced to do time and again actions that it will not be able to possess the means
07:27he wants to achieve
07:29in order to eliminate the state of Israel.
07:31So, there is a difference here between the objective and the means to achieve it.
07:36But, to your question, I don't want to be a prophet and to say how many days.
07:44We are decisive to reach the goals of the operation.
07:46So, there is no timeline as it stands?
07:49There is no timeline that you're looking at.
07:51There is no timeline of this operation.
07:54No, we hadn't gave to ourselves timeline.
07:57We are working closely with our American allies.
08:00And we will see how we are developing.
08:03And we hadn't put to ourselves any timeline.
08:05And the Americans have told you that they will support you along every path.
08:10But they have told you they will support you.
08:15Naturally, we want it to be as short as possible.
08:19This is clear.
08:19But we didn't put to ourselves any timeline.
08:22And with the Americans, it's not that they support us.
08:26They are working with us.
08:28And in hand, working together to achieve the same goals.
08:33We are, it's a mutual operation.
08:36And we are lucky enough to have such a great alliance with the strongest country, which is also our best
08:45friend.
08:46It's the United States of America.
08:47And we see and we analyze the situation the same way.
08:51And our conclusions was the same.
08:54And, sir, you're a diplomat.
08:56So you talk about creating the conditions in Iran.
08:59To create those conditions, it's understood that you must have some kind of back channel with the opposition, be it
09:04inside or outside the country.
09:05So what kind of communications have you had?
09:09Well, if we would have it, I'm sure you wouldn't expect that I will say it live.
09:17You know that this regime is a very brutal one.
09:21But to be totally frank, something is, the most important thing here is connected to the will of the Iranian
09:31people.
09:32It's not something you can orchestrate from outside when you don't have a real will of the Iranian people, which
09:40we saw marching on the streets, demanding their freedom.
09:45And this is the basic thing here.
09:47But the reason why I ask for the reason why I ask for the opposition, of course, there's been names.
09:54Reza Pevlavi has really self-appointed his man in a way as a person that could get the job done.
09:59What you're saying is at this point, you cannot confirm or deny whether you're in active talks with the Iranian
10:04opposition in or outside the country.
10:07Well, I will not.
10:09Clearly, I will not refer to that.
10:12But I'm emphasizing, it's not that someone from outside can play with the will of the Iranian people.
10:20All the international community saw very clearly that the will exists to regain their freedom.
10:28And this is the most important thing.
10:31It's not a cynical thing that you can play with from outside.
10:35And I don't know exactly who will be the next leadership of Iran.
10:41That will be determined, I hope, by free elections, by the Iranian people themselves.
10:46But you must create the conditions to end this tyranny.
10:52This is the most important thing now.
10:54And, of course, a number of scenarios could play out in Venezuela.
10:58And I want to emphasize, Maria, please, I want to emphasize another important point.
11:03The fact that this regime also very brutally attacked so many Arab states from its neighbors without any reason,
11:14this demonstrates that it is dangerous not only to Israel, not only to its own people,
11:20but also to all its neighbors and to the world peace as a whole.
11:26And this is a very important lesson.
11:28And from every day which is passing, we see it in another dimension.
11:34It's a very dangerous regime.
11:36But, Minister, just on that point, there's a number of scenarios.
11:39One is, of course, very similar to Venezuela, where the top leader is out, but the apparatus remain.
11:44Is that something that Israel would say you can work with, with that solve the issue you talk about your
11:49national security?
11:50Is that good enough?
11:51And then there's, of course, another scenario in which the people of Iran may hate the regime,
11:55but they do not want external intervention, certainly not from the U.S. and not Israel.
11:59So how do you work around these scenarios?
12:00We are not intervening with who will be the next leader of Iran.
12:06That will be decided by the Iranian people themselves, hopefully, in free elections.
12:17That's the best thing that can happen.
12:20This is not our intent.
12:22We only want one thing, that anyone who will be in power will not work to eliminate the state of
12:29Israel.
12:29This is enough for us.
12:31And I've got to ask you a final question.
12:32Of course, the Europeans, they were not involved.
12:35It is clear they played no role in this operation.
12:37You informed some countries, not others.
12:39Why sideline the Europeans?
12:41Do you not find them useful at all?
12:42Well, in Europe, you have all kind of approaches.
12:47You know, Europe doesn't have one position on the issue.
12:51You can hear the Czech Republic, which is strongly supporting this operation,
12:57and the Spanish government, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world,
13:02like it stood with Venezuela.
13:04They are standing now with Iran.
13:07But you know they would disagree.
13:09So you have all kind of approaches.
13:12I spoke during the last two days, I believe, with most of the foreign ministers of European,
13:21EU ministers, foreign ministers.
13:24And, of course, some of them, a significant number of them, sharing the same view.
13:31It was the EU that has designated lately the revolutionary gods of the Iranian regime as a terror organization.
13:41And, but they are not like partners to this operation.
13:45So you cannot say they support Iran.
13:47They might want it to be successful, but they are not part of this operation we are doing with the
13:56U.S.
13:56But why? Because you don't find them useful.
13:58And just because you referenced the Spanish minister, he did say he rejects the actions of the Iranian regime.
14:03He also condemned the Revolutionary Guard.
14:05But he also stressed that this operation under international law has breached international law.
14:10The U.N. Security Council was not even consulted.
14:12So it seems it's the way that this is handled that they are calling out.
14:16Do you get that as a fair point of criticism, sir?
14:19This is totally justified by international law because international law justifies self-defense.
14:26And someone who is, when one state is swearing and acting in order to eliminate another state,
14:34this state shouldn't wait until it will happen.
14:36So it is totally justified.
14:38I guess that if there will be other European states that want to join us in the military operation,
14:45they will know how to convey the message to us.
14:47And until now, that's not been the case.
14:49Just as a final question, in the past 24 hours, what is the message operationally the European governments are telling
14:55you?
14:57I think most of the ministers I'm speaking with are supportive to what they are doing,
15:04hoping that the people of Iran will regain their independence.
15:09I didn't see, I saw that Russia was putting out statements that they care about international law and they said
15:22something about Khamenei.
15:24They were sorry for his death.
15:26I don't think it is the approach, the general European approach.
15:31So you say at this point you consider your actions justified, of course, in Europe.
15:36That has led to a debate that will continue in the next few days.
15:39But your message is clear.
15:40You say the actions that you have taken are justified and so are the U.S.
15:44Just to stress, however, the Spanish prime minister did not say he was standing with the regime in Iran.
15:49That was not a question that he put forward.
15:52This is a legitimate interpretation.
15:56But actually, he did not say we stand with them in this statement.
15:59He just said it's not in compliance with the international law.
16:01But the statement he put out is an anti-Israeli and anti-American statement,
16:08which is, in this case, clearly serving Iran.
16:14Well, again, you know, they would disagree.
16:16But, of course, you make your point very clear.
16:18And you say that is your message for the European leadership.
16:23Sir, thank you very much for joining us today.
16:25I don't think that the approach of the Spanish government represents the majority of EU countries.
16:31On the contrary.
16:33Well, on that note, of course, we have to leave it here.
16:36But, sir, thank you very much for your time.
16:38And thank you for joining us on Euronews.
16:40Thank you so much.
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