IDF chief: Israel moving to next stage of campaign against Iran; more surprises to come

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks in video statement, March 5, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks in video statement, March 5, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says Israel is moving on to the “next stage of the campaign” against Iran.

“After completing the stage of the surprise opening blow, in which we created air superiority and suppressed the ballistic missile array, we are now moving to the next phase of the campaign, in which we will intensify the strike on the foundations of the regime and its military capabilities,” he says in a press statement.

“We have additional surprising moves in our hands, which I do not intend to reveal,” Zamir says.

Zamir says that he is in “continuous contact” with his American counterparts, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, and the commander of CENTCOM, Adm. Brad Cooper.

“We are fighting out of shared interests and values. In synchronized action, we are stripping the regime of its military capabilities and bringing it to strategic isolation and to a point of weakness it has never experienced before,” he says.

“This is historic cooperation,” Zamir adds.

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