Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday the war with Iran is entering what he described as its “decisive phase,” suggesting that conditions may be ripening for a final stage of the campaign.
Speaking after a security assessment with senior IDF officers, the intelligence community and other defense officials, Katz said the conflict had reached the “stretch of decision,” which would continue as long as necessary.
“We are entering the stretch of decision, which will continue as long as required,” Katz said. “Only the Iranian people can put an end to it through determined struggle until the fall of the terror regime and the saving of Iran.”
The call itself suggests that, at least in Israel, there is an assessment that conditions may be ripe and that the regime in Tehran has been weakened enough to enable effective pressure for change.
Katz’s remarks effectively indicate that if the Iranian public does not take to the streets, the United States and Israel could continue the fighting until the regime capitulates.
Both U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in recent weeks that when the time comes they would call on the Iranian public to take its fate into its own hands. At the same time, they stressed that moment had not yet arrived.
Katz’s statement appears to mark an initial call of that kind, suggesting that the Iranian public could help determine whether the war shortens or drags on.
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According to Katz, if the public in Iran — not only the opposition — applies effective pressure, there is a chance the regime could accept the surrender terms set by Trump.
The fact that a lower-ranking political figure was authorized by Netanyahu — and possibly also by Trump — to issue such a message indicates it may be an initial move or trial balloon designed to test how the call resonates and what impact it might have on the ground.
The two senior leaders, particularly the U.S. president, may not be certain what the outcome of such a call would be and therefore may prefer not to commit themselves publicly to actions that could depend on how civilians in Iran respond.
Still, an official statement by a senior government figure following a security assessment and decision-making meeting among Israel’s defense leadership sharpens the sense that the campaign against Iran may be approaching its final stage.
Katz stressed that the campaign would continue as long as necessary until a decisive outcome is achieved.
That suggests that if the public in Iran does not act in the way Washington and Jerusalem hope — after the IDF and the U.S. military weakened the regime — the war could continue for several more weeks.