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FIRST ON FOX: As Israel wages what it describes as an existential campaign against Iran, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the war has reinforced a fundamental strategic shift in how Israel sees itself and its alliances, particularly with the United States and regional partners.
“Israel was never part of this region. We thought we were part of Europe,” he said. “Since the Abraham Accords started, we are having good relations with our neighbors. We are part of this region now.”
He described the 2020 agreements as transformative, building on the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. “The military cooperation is great. Some of the things are overt and some covert,” Defrin said in his first English-language media interview since the beginning of the conflict. “Iran is a regional threat, and that is clear to everyone now.”
But he stressed the campaign against Tehran is not only regional.
“It’s a worldwide problem, it’s a global problem, it’s a regional problem and it’s also an Israeli problem,” he said. “They are not hitting only Israel.”
Bombing occurs in Tehran, Iran on February 28, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Getty Images)
Months of Deception
The spokesperson revealed that the operation was preceded by months of strategic deception.
“It was a strategic and operational deception,” he said.
On the eve of the strike, senior officials deliberately maintained routine appearances.
“Friday night we went to dinner at home. The chief of staff and I returned late in cars that were not our official vehicles. The official cars stayed at home, and we made sure that from satellite imagery it would not look like the Kirya (ministry of defense) was full while all the planes were armed and ready.”
He said Iran was caught off guard. “For many long months there was deception, so they were surprised. They fired what they had pre-planned in their preset response.”
‘A Mutual Operation’
The spokesperson said the strike that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was carried out in coordination with the Trump administration. “It was a mutual operation,” he said. “The cooperation between us and the American military is amazing. We have mutual planning and mutual executing for the plans in Iran and beyond.”
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People watch from a rooftop as a plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)
He framed the operation as part of unprecedented U.S.-Israeli military coordination. The entire operation in Iran is a mutual and coordinated campaign,” he said.
He also described a broader international dimension. “It’s a problem with the United States of America as well,” he said, citing attacks by Iranian-backed groups that have killed American service members and threatened shipping lanes.
“They are posing a threat to the Red Sea… the movement of naval ships in the Suez Canal dropped by 90% since the Houthis started shooting at ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait,” he said. “It’s a global problem. It’s a terror regime. They are acting all over the world. And again, we had to act.”
He added that regional states increasingly understand the threat. “Israel is here to stay. You see the countries of the region placing their trust in Israel.”
Strike on Iranian Targets
Addressing reports that dozens of senior Iranian figures were eliminated in a strike on Tuesday, including claims that 88 members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts were killed, he dismissed the figures.
“We struck a few targets involved in terrorism. We still don’t have any battle damage assessment. Once we have it, we will publish it. It’s too early.”
He emphasized that the targets were military. “We struck military targets,” he said. “They are attacking population centers.”
According to the spokesperson, Israeli intelligence shows Iran is deliberately aiming at civilians “to exact a price,” including launches toward civilian infrastructure.
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Rescue workers and military personnel operate at the scene where several people were killed by an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, Israel Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Leo Correa/AP Photo)
War Aims
Explaining the decision to launch the campaign, the spokesperson described Iran as an imminent existential threat.
“We didn’t have another choice, unfortunately. It’s an existential imminent threat. This is a terror regime,” he said.
“They declared it. Whatever they declared, they did.”
Asked whether regime change is an objective, he drew a distinction between military aims and political outcomes.
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An explosion is seen as an Iranian missile directly hits a building in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Tomer Neuberg/AP Photo)
“As a member of the military, I cannot say we have an aim to remove the regime,” he said. “But definitely, we want to weaken it and create the conditions that one day this regime will be removed by its own people.”
As fighting expands to Lebanon following renewed Hezbollah fire, he reiterated Israel’s view of Iran as the head of a regional network.
“Hezbollah is an octopus. The head of the octopus is in Iran.”
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A firefighter attempts to extinguish a burning car at the site of a direct hit from an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Tomer Neuberg/AP Photo)
For Israel, he said, the campaign has clarified a strategic reality shaped by the Abraham Accords and deepened U.S. cooperation. “We are part of this region now.”
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