WASHINGTON (Realist English). Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, declared that Israel is now “in a state of war” with the Iranian regime, following a wave of missile strikes launched from Iran on Saturday.
In an interview with CNN, Leiter confirmed that one woman was killed and around 40 people injured after Iran fired three volleys of ballistic missiles, totaling approximately 150 projectiles. He said more attacks were likely, noting that Tehran possesses an arsenal of around 2,000 ballistic missiles.
“This is not a war with the Iranian people,” Leiter said. “It’s a war with a regime that seeks nuclear weapons and regional domination.”
The ambassador accused Iran of deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, and described the missile barrages as part of a larger pattern of aggression by Tehran. He also warned that Israeli military operations were still underway and that the full extent of damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would become clearer in the coming days.
“Ask me in four or five days,” he said. “Once the military completes its assessments, we’ll know how close we came to neutralizing Iran’s nuclear infrastructure — potentially for good.”
The comments come amid one of the most dangerous escalations between the two states in years, with fears growing that the conflict could spread beyond the region.
