JERUSALEM, March 10 - Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that his country does not seek an unending war with Iran and that decisions on when to halt operations will be taken in coordination with the United States. He declined to provide a public timetable for an end to the fighting as the conflict entered its 11th day and broadened across the Middle East.
Gideon Saar spoke to journalists in Jerusalem alongside his German counterpart, reiterating that Israel will sustain military action only until "the minute that we and our partners think that is appropriate to stop." He underlined the point bluntly: "We are not looking for an endless war." Saar declined to set a publicly stated end date.
The confrontation has expanded beyond direct exchanges between Israel and Iran. Iranian strikes have reached neighbouring states, including the United Arab Emirates, while Israel is engaged in fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon even as it continues to strike targets inside Iran. Those developments have raised concerns among European leaders about the absence of a clear plan to de-escalate.
In Berlin earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said there was growing unease in Europe about the trajectory of the war and suggested that, thus far, there appeared to be no plan to bring the conflict to an end. During the visit to Jerusalem, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul became the first senior foreign official to publicly travel to Israel since the war began. Wadephul said he was confident Washington and Tel Aviv remained open to a diplomatic solution that could ultimately end the fighting.
Wadephul cautioned, however, that any diplomatic settlement would have to include arrangements addressing Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and its backing for regional militias - elements he said Tehran had made clear it was not prepared to accept at present.
Saar framed Israel's longer-term objective as removing existential threats posed by Iran. When asked what victory would look like for his government, he described Iran's newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamanei - the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the Israeli military on the conflict's first day - as an extremist. Saar reiterated that Israel aims to dismantle Iran's clerical rule by destroying its nuclear and missile capabilities and by creating conditions in which Iranians might overthrow their rulers.
He added that there may be an opportunity to foster conditions for Iranians to "regain their freedom," acknowledging explicitly that such a change may not occur during the current fighting and could take place afterward. "We must not miss this opportunity with partial results," he warned, stressing the need to preserve any strategic gains.
The statements from Israeli and German officials highlight the tension between continuing military pressure and pursuing a political resolution. While both sides signalled openness to diplomacy, they also underscored conditions that Tehran has not agreed to, leaving the prospects for an immediate negotiated settlement unclear.