Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday regarding the progress of the war against Iran and the diplomatic efforts made to consolidate support for Israel’s actions.
“Israel’s exceptional achievements in ‘Operation Rising Lion’ continue to accumulate,” Sa’ar said. “This morning, we were informed that our forces eliminated the Iranian Chief of Staff Ali Shadmani, after his predecessor was eliminated in the operation’s opening strike.”
“We still do not know who the successor of the successor will be,” he continued. “I’d recommend that whoever is offered that position think it through. If he accepts, extreme caution is advised.”
“I have spent three decades at the heart of the decision-making apparatus and I can say that never has a military campaign been planned and managed in the way that ‘Operation Rising Lion was and is – thoroughly, intensively, and with an excellent ongoing dialogue between the government, the IDF, and other security organizations,” he added.
The operation commences “from a broad political and security perspective, out of a sense of unity and understanding of the historic moment that we are in, and through the cooperation of all the branches led by the government – headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” the foreign minister said.
“Alongside the military campaign, a diplomatic and public diplomacy campaign is underway,” Sa’ar said further.
“We are initiating and we are proactive in the diplomatic arena, just as we are in the military one. On the diplomatic front, the Iranian side has demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, intense diplomatic activity. So far, all of its moves have been blocked,” the foreign minister continued.
International forums
He went on to say that several international forums, including the UN Security Council, the IAEA Board of Governors, and the foreign ministers of the EU, ended “with no outcome against Israel.”
“I estimate that we will also see additional attempts in these forums, as well as a move to bring the matter before the UN General Assembly,” Sa’ar said.
“As for the prime minister’s diplomatic efforts with heads of state, my own efforts with foreign ministers, efforts by the Foreign Ministry, and those of our embassies around the world – these are all meant to serve the purpose of providing diplomatic cover for the IDF’s operations,” he added.
“At the same time, public diplomacy is constantly taking place on a broader scale, involving several bodies in the international media and on social networks,” Sa’ar said.
“We will detail these efforts here. As I said before, we are constantly active in the public diplomacy campaign.”
According to the foreign minister, “Our position in the international arena regarding ‘Operation Rising Lion’ is good. There is a great understanding of the actions we have taken, as well as an understanding that the existential threat to Israel has implications for the security of the entire region, Europe, and the world order at large.”
“Of course,” Sa’ar added, “there are also other voices in the international arena, particularly in what we call the Western world, expressing all the concerns that we are accustomed to hearing – fears of escalation and so forth. But the general approach is a positive one.”
In the classified section of the meeting, Sa’ar did not address the subject of an exit strategy from the war against Iran, according to a person who attended the meeting.
In addition, Sa’ar also reportedly spoke about his ministry’s efforts to reach Iranian citizens via posts in Persian on social media.