Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war against Iran “will not last years” as the conflict spread on with Israel again attacking the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Iran attacking Gulf states that host US bases.
US President Donald Trump, who launched attacks on Iran along with Israel on Saturday, initially predicted the war would last four to five weeks, but has since sought to justify a broad, open-ended war.
Meanwhile, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks not only against Israel and U.S. forces, but also against a number of U.S.-allied countries in the region, crippling vital energy transportation globally from the Gulf, along with hundreds of busy short- and long-haul air routes.
Continues after advertising
Netanyahu rejected the idea that the conflict would last for years, like previous wars in the region.
“I said it could be quick and decisive. It may take some time, but it won’t take years. It’s not an endless war,” Netanyahu declared on Fox News’ “Hannity” program on Monday.
Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told an online briefing that the duration of the military campaign could change depending on developments, adding: “We have prepared a general scope of weeks.”
Asked whether Israel could send ground forces to Iran, Shoshani said that was unlikely.
Explosions shook buildings in Tel Aviv as air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles.
.
Continues after advertising
The Israeli military said it has sent more troops to southern Lebanon and positioned them at points close to the border as part of the “forward defense.” Following the November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah, a Shia militia that acts as an Iranian proxy force, Israel maintained ground troops in Lebanon at five strategic points.
In the early hours of Tuesday, , causing minor damage and starting a fire, and at least eight more drones were intercepted before reaching the city, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense said.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Iran, Israel, Lebanon and other nations since the US and Israel started the war by killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in an airstrike on Saturday.
Continues after advertising
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which reports to the supreme leader, said its Navy destroyed the main command and headquarters building of a U.S. air base in Bahrain in what it described as “Operation Truth Pledge 4.”
According to the Guard, 20 drones and three missiles hit their intended targets at the base in the Sheikh Isa region.
The U.S. State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Continues after advertising
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Monday that “the hardest blows are yet to come from the US military.”
Asked how long he expected the United States to engage in Iran, Rubio said: “We believe that the objectives that we have set for this mission, the destruction of (Iran’s) ballistic missile capabilities, both launch and manufacturing, can be achieved without ground forces… Right now, we are not prepared to send ground forces. But obviously the president has those options and is not going to rule anything out.”
