Netanyahu says Israel will carry on Iran war ‘with all our force’

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel would continue its war with Iran “with all our force”, and alongside the United States had gained near-total control of the skies over Tehran after a week of strikes.

“We have a systematic plan to eradicate the Iranian regime and achieve many other objectives,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.

Israel and the United States launched the war against Iran with strikes on Tehran last Saturday that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Citizens, you are telling me, the government and our heroic soldiers to continue until victory, and I thank you. I can assure you that we will continue with all our force,” Netanyahu said.

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The Israeli leader said that thanks to the bombing campaign by Israeli and American pilots “we have gained almost complete control of the airspace” over Iran’s capital.

Speaking to the Iranian people, he said the “moment of truth” was coming as Israel was seeking to help liberate them from the “yoke of tyranny”.

He said that Israel had managed to “transform the Middle East” and shift the balance of power in the region.

Israel’s military said earlier that it had carried out around 3,400 strikes on Iran during the first week of the war, dropping roughly 7,500 munitions.