Smotrich recounts cabinet’s unanimous resolve to strike Iran, praises IDF precision and Trump administration’s backing; says campaign marks end of era shaped by Iranian threat and Oslo doctrine.
Minister of Finance, Security Cabinet member, and Religious Zionist Party Chairman Bezalel Smotrich revealed that while he did have some concerns, he arrived at the cabinet meeting that decided to launch Operation Rising Lion against Iran without doubts.
“I arrived at the cabinet meeting less tense. We have been intensively discussing this matter for five or six months already. It’s exciting to follow the speed at which we develop capabilities. When we started, we didn’t expect that we could reach such accomplishments when it comes to intelligence, the achievement of goals, and operational planning. There is no military in the world with such abilities and with G-d on its side like us.
“I raised my hand during that meeting with a lot of trust in G-d and our capabilities, understanding that it was the right thing, it was an existential threat that had to be removed, and there was no other choice. Yes, there was a concern that the price would be much higher or that there would be operational failures, be we saw G-d’s help,” he added.
The minister gives another peek into the decision-making process before the mission. “We decided on the date about a month in advance. After that, there were different reasons, diplomatic and military, that justified its delay. We understood the correct moment to execute the attack, and the cabinet meeting was just a formality. We knew well where we were headed, and over time, our trust in the military grew. Everything was done with a sense of responsibility for the Jewish nation. We saw in the intelligence reports that Iran was cruising to having a bomb and tripling the rate of its missile production.”
In addition, according to Smotrich, the depth of the US involvement was great. “Relatively early on, it was clear that the US was with us, at least to give a green light. I don’t want to go into details when we learned that it too would actively attack. The level of coordination between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Deremer with the Trump administration, as well as the coordination between the militaries, is unprecedented in history. It stems from our successes, among other things. President Trump joined our success. The IDF’s fantastic performance made it clear that we weren’t going to sink into an Iranian quagmire, but would rather have a very successful, precise campaign that would remove the threats by Iran.”
Smotrich also discusses the war in Gaza, which will return to center stage after the operation in Iran. “We estimate that the victory in Iran will weaken Hamas a lot. In the end, Iran was the head of the octopus and the engine behind the chokehold that wanted to destroy the State of Israel. That doesn’t mean that they will raise a white flag after the operation. We need to go back to Gaza to achieve the two goals of the war, which are the destruction of Hamas, removing the threat, and bringing peace and quiet to the residents of the south, and the return of the hostages, both deceased and living. Yesterday, the Shin Bet and IDF recovered three deceased hostages. There are more plans like that, and we will not surrender to Hamas; rather, Hamas will surrender. At the end of the war, Hamas won’t be in the Gaza Strip.
“Together with President Trump, we will implement his plan and willingly encourage the residents of Gaza to seek a future elsewhere. When the people of Israel look back on this period a few years from now, they will see a dramatic turning point. We are peeling away forty years during which the Ayatollah regime built a noose around us, during which the Oslo conception prevailed—an era of mistakes and misjudgments—but we are now dismantling its effects in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria, in Lebanon, in Syria, and now also in Iran. This is a dramatic shift that we are part of, and it is a tremendous privilege,” he concludes.
