Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Tuesday the country had effectively won its war with Iran but gave no indication of when the conflict might end, saying only that the campaign would continue until its objectives were achieved.

Speaking at a news conference, Sa'ar said Israel was seeking to remove "existential threats" but did not say how the government would determine when those goals had been met.

"One must be patient," he said, speaking on the 18th day of a war that has killed more than 2,000 people — most in Iran and Lebanon but also in Israel, Iraq, and across the Persian Gulf.

Sa'ar and other Israeli officials have said the aim is to significantly weaken Iran's ability to carry out attacks against Israel over the long term while creating conditions inside Iran that could ultimately enable Iranians to overthrow their rulers.

But Sa'ar on Tuesday also acknowledged that "the regime" in Iran could only be toppled by the Iranian people — an apparent acknowledgment that a rising does not look imminent.

The Israeli military has said it has been carrying out airstrikes on Iran's ballistic missile launchers and storage and production facilities. It has also bombed sites it said were linked to Iran's nuclear program and attacked security forces.

"We have already won," Sa'ar said, describing Iran as "dramatically weakened" and no longer the country it was before the war began on Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.

"This is clear for us and for our neighbors, but we will continue until the point that the mission is complete," he said.

Even as Sa'ar claimed victory, echoing remarks by President Donald Trump on March 11, Iran fired numerous salvos of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, highlighting Tehran's continued ability to conduct long-range strikes after more than two weeks of war.

The Trump administration has offered mixed signals on when the conflict might end, at times suggesting it could conclude soon while also indicating the campaign remains under way. Israeli officials have provided no timeline, and its military says it has war plans for the next three weeks and beyond.

"We are doing a very important job," Sa'ar said, shortly after the country's defense minister, Israel Katz, announced that the military had killed top security chief, Ali Larijani.

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has thrown the region into upheaval, with Israel now also fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Tehran carrying out strikes on Gulf Arab states.

Iran has also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz at the entry to the Gulf where 20% of the world's s oil and liquefied natural gas flow, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.

Several U.S. allies have rebuffed Trump's call to send warships to escort tankers through the waterway, with some criticizing Washington and Israel for failing to consult them before launching the war. Sa'ar described Iran's blocking of the waterway as "modern piracy" and said it was a global problem.

Estonia's foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, speaking alongside Sa'ar, signaled that the NATO and European Union member was open to taking part in a U.S.-led mission to reopen the strategic waterway but said that Washington first needed to clarify its objectives and what support it was seeking.