Alongside visiting German FM, Sa’ar says Israel not seeking ‘endless war’ in Iran

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday that Israel was not seeking an “endless war” in Iran amid the ongoing joint US-Israeli bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic, while hosting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Jerusalem.

While declining to give a timeline for the operation, Sa’ar said Jerusalem does not aim to continue the conflict indefinitely and would coordinate with Washington on when to end the fighting.

Wadephul lightning trip marked the first diplomatic visit by a senior foreign official to Israel since the start of the campaign, now in its 11th day. As European capitals continue to debate how to respond to the escalating conflict, Wadephul stressed that while Germany and European partners hope for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Tehran does not appear ready to commit to one.

Throughout Sunday afternoon, Sa’ar and Wadephul toured the site of a deadly Iranian missile attack in Beit Shemesh and met with relatives of the victims, before meeting privately at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem and holding a joint press conference there.

The German minister’s visit came directly in response to the war and was not scheduled before the conflict broke out, according to the German embassy and Sa’ar’s office.

Wadephul was scheduled to return to Germany on Tuesday evening.

While Sa’ar declined to give the operation a clear timeline at the press conference, he said in response to a question that “in due time, we will consult with our American friends when we think it is the right time to [end the conflict.] We are not looking for an endless war.”

Sa’ar said Israel’s goals are “to remove for the long term existential threats from Iran to Israel,” adding that “it is hard to see [this happening] with the current regime.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have repeatedly presented the current conflict as an opportunity to “create the conditions” for regime change in Iran, but have refrained from stating this as an explicit goal of the campaign.

Referring to Iran’s newly selected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, was assassinated in an Israeli strike at the start of the US-Israeli campaign on February 28, Sa’ar warned that “The new Khamenei is no less extremist than the previous.”

He reiterated remarks from Israeli officials that “regime change can also happen after the campaign. But it’s important to create the conditions for a change in Iran, for the people of Iran to be able to regain their freedom.”

“We must not miss this opportunity with partial results. So we will continue until the minute that we and our partners think it is appropriate to stop,” he said.

Addressing international criticism of the campaign in his opening statements, Sa’ar said that “all those that called during [recent] days for ‘de-escalation’ are ensuring escalation for the people of Iran and for the Middle East and beyond, decades forward.”

Many members of the international community, including in Europe, have responded with a mix of caution and criticism to the campaign.

European Union Council President Antonio Costa told EU ambassadors in Brussels on Tuesday that Russia has so far been the only winner from the war in the Middle East, as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded.

While some EU countries, such as France, Greece, and Italy, have sent warships toward the Middle East and most EU top officials have condemned Iranian strikes in the region, they have mostly called for an end to the conflict and a diplomatic solution.

For his part, Sa’ar encouraged “countries to take the next moral step and cut all diplomatic ties with this terror regime.”

Wadephul said during the press conference that while Berlin hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict — and while Jerusalem and Washington “are ready for a diplomatic solution” — he doesn’t see the same being true for Iran.

Wadephul said that any such solution would need to include agreements with Iran on its nuclear and missile programs, as well as its support for regional militias, terms that Wadephul said Tehran had made clear that it was not currently prepared to accept.

The top German diplomat pointed to Iran’s attacks on the region and continued use of proxy terror groups as evidence for this, saying, “For now, this is what we hear from Tehran; they are not ready for a diplomatic solution. And as long as this is not the case, we still have to wait.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that Berlin was working with partners to find an approach to end the fighting with Iran, while saying his country shared the aims of the US and Israel.

Germany is currently allowing the US military to use its Ramstein Air Base to coordinate drone and missile strikes against Iran, which has drawn criticism from some opposition politicians who fear the base could come under fire in retaliatory strikes, according to EuroNews.

Reuters contributed to this report.