'We're preventing war, not advancing war' – Israel's US ambassador says country in no hurry stop operations in Iran

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel “Michael” Leiter spoke to U.S. media on Sunday regarding Operation Rising Lion, underscoring that Israel is not currently interested in containing the war. 

Speaking to ABC’s “This Week” host Martha Raddatz, Leiter was asked how Israel would avoid escalating and attempt to contain the war. 

“Martha, the objective is not to contain the war,” Leiter responded. “The objective is to win the war.” 

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, told @MarthaRaddatz that Israel had set Iran’s nuclear program back "dramatically" after a series of strikes on the country, but that the full operation could take “weeks.”https://t.co/14n13EwYra pic.twitter.com/EF0CyDcKlE

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“Look, 80 years ago we had a little man with a mustache running around Europe that nobody believed him when he said he was going to destroy the Jewish people. We lost six million. Now we’ve got a crazed new Hitler running around the Middle East saying he’s going to destroy us,” Leiter continued.

“We have to take him at face value. That’s his intention. He says it every day. He’s got a concrete plan to destroy us.” 

Leiter also affirmed that Israel sees the Iranian threat as an existential threat. 

“This isn't a joke. This is very serious for us. It's existential,” the ambassador noted. 

Leiter made similar comments during an interview on "FOX News Sunday," hosted by Shannon Bream. After identifying both Iran’s covert nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missile program, Ambassador Leiter said that the IDF is fighting “to ensure that the State of Israel survives.” 

“What we're doing is preventing war, not advancing war,” Leiter told Bream. 

WATCH: Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. @yechielleiter details the Jewish state’s long-term war strategy, amid escalating conflict with Iran: “Their nuclear program must be dismantled” pic.twitter.com/8nSybhMes0

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When asked by ABC's Raddatz if Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “off the target list,” Leiter refused to give a definitive answer. 

“I think it’s fair to say that nobody who’s threatening the destruction of Israel should be off the target list. But we’re not going to discuss specific individuals online,” Leiter told her. 

“The idea is to neutralize and terminate the Iranian intention of destroying Israel through nuclear weapons and through ballistic missiles,” the Israeli ambassador continued. “And anybody who gets in the way of that or who is actually advancing that cause of destroying Israel is obviously somebody we're going to have to deal with.” 

Leiter also affirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement, saying the war could last for weeks, not days, saying, “We have more coming.” 

In both interviews, Leiter said that Israel has only asked the U.S. for defensive support, not offensive support. 

When asked by Bream whether there was “any indication” the U.S. would provide military support in striking Iran’s underground nuclear site at Fordow – specifically by using heavy bunker-buster bombs from its arsenal – Leiter declined to give a direct answer, saying, “Look, that’s a decision that the United States government has to take.”

He affirmed Israel would “deal with the nuclear program as best we can.” 

“We still have a few surprises up our sleeve,” Leiter stated. “I think we've proven that over the past couple of days.” 

“At this point, what we requested from our ally, our greatest ally, the United States, is a defensive posture,” Leiter continued. 

“They're helping protect our civilians through defensive missile systems,” Leiter stated regarding the THAAD missile defense system, which the U.S. has sent to Israel to help defend against the ballistic missile attacks. 

During the ABC interview, Leiter also pushed back against the idea that Israel and the U.S. are at odds over the fighting, telling Raddatz, “Friday morning, the president was actually quite congratulatory over our initial strikes. And he did write clearly that he knew about our intentions.” 

When Raddatz pressed for clarification, noting that Trump had stated he did not want Israel to strike, Leiter pushed back, contradicting her assertion.

“He wants the nuclear program in Iran to be halted in its entirety,” Leiter clarified.

“He said it very clearly: dismantle the centrifuges, dismantle the infrastructure, and stop in total the enrichment of uranium. So, if that can be achieved through negotiation, so be it. We’ll be very happy. But it hasn’t been.”