Former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said Israel and the U.S. are acting decisively against Iran and do not intend to make this a prolonged conflict.
Levy echoed comments by War Secretary Pete Hegseth that the military campaign "is not endless."
Levy said the goal of the joint effort is to neutralize what he described as an immediate and growing threat from Tehran before it escalates.
"The Iranian regime is our problem at home," Levy told Newsmax TV's "National Report" on Monday.
"We do not want Iranian ballistic missiles fired at our cities. We can't afford for thousands of ballistic missiles to be fired at our cities."
His remarks came as U.S. and Israeli forces continue coordinated operations targeting Iranian military and regime-linked sites.
Hegseth has emphasized that Washington's objective is limited and focused, signaling the administration does not seek an open-ended regional war.
"We set the terms of this war from start to finish. Our ambitions are not utopian. They are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies," Hegseth told reporters Monday.
Levy echoed that framing, arguing that Israel and the U.S. are confronting the threat now to avoid a far larger conflict later.
"The Iranian regime has for 50 years been pursuing a policy of death to America and death to Israel," Levy said.
He accused Tehran of surrounding Israel with a "ring of fire" through proxy forces across the region and pursuing nuclear weapons aimed at destroying the Jewish state.
Iran has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes. Tehran also rejects accusations that it seeks Israel's destruction, though Iranian leaders have repeatedly condemned Israel and U.S. influence in the region.
Levy said Israeli operations in recent years against Iran-backed groups had weakened those networks, letting Jerusalem and Washington focus on Iran's leadership and military infrastructure.
"It's a good thing that Israel knocked out those Iranian proxies, so that the U.S. and Israel together could confront the core of this problem," he said, criticizing past leaders for what he described as attempts to "brush the problem under the carpet."
Despite warnings of retaliation, Levy described public sentiment in Israel as resilient.
"Here in Israel, morale is high. We are proud of our pilots bombing regime targets in Iran. We are proud to be supporting our American partners and allies in this," he said.
Levy also claimed some Iranians were celebrating Israeli strikes targeting senior leadership, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he called a "dictator and tyrant."
Khamenei, who led theocratic power in Iran over the decades as its top leader and sought to turn it into a regional powerhouse, bringing it into confrontation with Israel and the U.S. over its nuclear program while crushing democracy protests, was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes over the weekend.
He was 86.
"Israelis know we will have to run to the bomb shelters many more times in the coming days and weeks," Levy said, adding that the ultimate objective is for the U.S.-Israel alliance to "finish the job" and end what he called the Iranian regime's aggression.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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