U.S. President Donald Trump told Israeli media on the 9th about the exit strategy for the Iranian war, which marks its 10th day.
The "great anger" operation, which began on the 28th of last month with the aim of stopping Iran's nuclear development, has killed 1332 people in Iran, at least 11 in Israel, six in the US, and 11 in Gulf countries.
President Trump said in an interview with the Times of Israel that "the timing of the end of the war with Iran will be decided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
"Iran would have destroyed Israel without him and Netanyahu," he said in a short phone interview. "Iran tried to destroy Israel and everything around it, and we cooperated."
Asked whether he would decide on his own when to end the war with Iran or whether Netanyahu also had a say, he replied, "We are sympathizing with each other to some extent, and we will make a decision at the right time, but we will consider everything."
Netanyahu's opinion will also be reflected, but it has indicated that the final decision belongs to the U.S. president.
When asked if Israel could continue the war even after the U.S. decided to stop airstrikes on Iran, he added, "I don't think there's a need."
Earlier, at a press conference on the 6th, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt expected the war to last four to six weeks.
Meanwhile, President Trump said, "Let's see what happens" to Iran's choice of supreme leader as the 56-year-old son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
President Trump disparaged Moztava as "lightweight" and pointed out that he was not selected as the successor by his father Khamenei.
Khamenei disliked his son's leadership while he was alive, and Ruhola Khomeini, the first supreme leader who launched the Islamic Revolution in Iran, considered the hereditary power succession to be contrary to Islamic law and an imperial act.
When Moztava was chosen as the third supreme leader of Iran, the military pledged allegiance.
Iran's Central Military Command said its forces would fight "until the end of their breath, until a drop of blood" under the new leader. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard has called it Khamenei's "strong arm" and vowed to "fully obey."
Yoon Chang-soo, a professional reporter
A war with no justification and countless civilian casualties is being decided solely by those two individuals.
It’s hard to see this war as serving America’s national interest, yet those two are making decisions entirely according to their own will.
Having started a war that lacks both justification and substance, they may try to prolong it until they can find some form of gain.
It’s time we ask ourselves who the real villains are.
