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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