Rising Lion launched "at last possible moment" Foreign Minister tells Jewish community leaders

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke today (Monday) to 50 Jewish communal leaders around the world, to provide them with a briefing on Operation Rising Lion and its rationale.

Here is the full statement:

"Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar briefed about an hour ago 50 leaders of Jewish communities from around the world on the Cabinet decision and the IDF operation in Iran. About three weeks ago, Minister Sa'ar established at the International Conference Against Antisemitism that he led in Jerusalem the "J-50" forum with heads of Jewish communities worldwide.

"Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said in the briefing to community heads:

"We acted at the last possible moment. If we had not decided to act in Iran - we would have left our people in danger of annihilation."

"He also said:

"Israel acted and acts to ensure its existence. But Israel's actions contribute to the security of the entire Middle East, to Europe's security, and to world order. Many leaders in the world understand this, even if not all choose to say it.

"Since October 7th, Israel has gradually removed the threats to its security and existence. First we dealt with the 'tentacles of the octopus,' with the terror states that established themselves on our borders in Gaza and Lebanon, and now we are acting against the head of the octopus in Iran, which leads the annihilation program through developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile threats on an unbearable scale."

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