Jerusalem, June 13 || Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar continues to hold a "marathon of calls" with his counterparts around the world after the launch of 'Operation Rising Lion' by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) against Iran to remove the "Iranian threat of annihilation", the country's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
One of the first conversations Sa'ar held early Friday morning was with German Foreign Minister Wadephul. Sa'ar informed his German counterpart of the unanimous Cabinet decision and the subsequent IDF action.
"We made this decision at the last possible minute, after all other avenues had been exhausted. The whole world saw and understood that the Iranians were not ready to stop and we had to stop them. The latest IAEA report illustrated the serious Iranian violations. We know that challenging days lie ahead, but we have no other choice," Sa'ar told the German Foreign Minister.
Later, Sa'ar held a phone call with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
"Foreign Minister Sa'ar informed his Italian counterpart about the Cabinet's decision to act to stop Iran's plan to eliminate Israel and about the IDF's operation in Iran. The two also discussed the Gaza issue. Minister Sa'ar said during the conversation that Israel is also interested in reaching a hostage deal - something Hamas has so far rejected," read a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after the call.