Jerusalem, March 10, (dpa/GNA) – Israel is “not seeking an endless war” with Iran, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday, as he hosted his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.
Saar said Israel and the United States have “huge achievements already” in the conflict, which began on February 28 and has escalated across the Middle East.
The Israeli minister acknowledged that the Iranian regime “cannot be brought down without the people of Iran.”
“This is clear,” he stated. “Yet without external help, the Iranian people cannot regain their freedom.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has called on the Iranian population to rise up and overthrow the leadership in Tehran.
Wadephul, the first European foreign minister to journey to Israel since the war began on February 28, met Saar for talks in Jerusalem.
The ministers visited the city of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, to see the destruction caused by an Iranian missile attack.
Nine people were killed and around 50 injured, when a missile struck the city on March 1.
In total, there have been 13 deaths in Israel as a result of Iranian attacks, since the war began with the large-scale US-Israeli offensive against Tehran.
A woman whose husband was killed in the attack gave Wadephul a vivid description of the destruction.
“Everything fell on top of us. It was dark, we couldn’t breathe,” she said through tears. “Everything is gone, the memories, the pictures, everything is burned.”
Wadephul’s visit came off the back of discussions with his Cypriot counterpart Konstantinos Kombos in Nicosia earlier on Tuesday.
Germany has largely backed Israel and the US over the conflict with Iran, but Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday, he was concerned that the countries lack a plan to end the war.
Berlin is concerned about the sharp rise in fuel prices as a result of the war, which could have a devastating impact on economic growth.
GNA