Israeli minister declares victory in war but says 'goals not met, be patient'

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday (Mar 17) said that his country has effectively won the war with Iran, but gave no indication of when the conflict might end. However, speaking at WION World Pulse, Rueven Azar, Ambassador of Israel to India said that war may take a few weeks to get over. A day ago, speaking at a news conference, Saar said Israel was seeking to remove "existential threats", but did not say how the government would determine when those goals had been met. "One must be patient," he said, speaking on the 18th day of a war. This comes as Rueven Azar told WION that there would not be ground invasion in Iran and claimed that Gulf countries want the US and Israel to succeed in the war. Saar reiterated Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that "the regime" in Iran could only be toppled by the Iranian people "This is clear for us and for our neighbours but we will continue until the point that the mission is complete," he said.

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Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister on Wednesday (Mar 18) shared posted yet another video with US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in an attempt to shut down the AI and death rumours. Since the day Iran claimed that Netanyahu's office has been it, it has been widely reported that the Israeli PM was not seen in public. Initially, to quash the rumours, Netanyahu had shared a video in from a coffee shop in Jerusalem. However, he was criticised and questioned for posting a video in such an informal setting amid the raging war. Several claims that the video was AI generated also surfaced.

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(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)