IDF Chief Asks Israelis To Be Prepared For ‘Prolonged Campaign’, As Trump Says He Is Waiting To See If Iranians Come To Their Senses

In an address to Israelis, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced on June 20, 2025, that Israel must prepare for a “prolonged campaign” against Iran to counter a severe threat to its existence. This comes as diplomatic efforts in Geneva to de-escalate tensions with Iran have failed to produce a breakthrough, leaving military action as Israel’s primary course of action to neutralize Iran’s capabilities. 

According to a report from Times of Israel, Zamir revealed that Iran has been “building for years a clear plan to destroy the State of Israel,” with recent advancements pushing its capabilities to a critical threshold. He noted that at the onset of Israel’s campaign, Iran possessed approximately 2,500 surface-to-surface missiles, with projections estimating a rise to 8,000 within two years due to its rapid production rate. Combined with Iran’s nuclear program and its support for proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, these developments “compelled us to strike and deliver a preemptive blow,” Zamir stated.

“Dear citizens of Israel, alongside the offensive operations, the defense of the home front continues. This is a different challenge from what we have known until now. The enemy, in its weakness, deliberately targets civilians, as we have experienced once again in the recent barrage. Our enemies do not understand that the Israeli home front is the source of the IDF’s strength, not its weakness. We are preparing for a range of possible developments. We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history. We launched this campaign in order to eliminate a threat of this magnitude, against such an enemy, which requires readiness for a prolonged campaign,” the IDF Chief of Staff added. 

The IDF launched its operation, dubbed “Rising Lion,” on June 13, 2025, targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and missile infrastructure. Zamir emphasized that the IDF had been preparing for this operation for years, seizing a strategic window to act before Iran’s capabilities became unmanageable. “Had we delayed, there was a risk of losing these conditions and entering the campaign in the future from a position of clear disadvantage,” he said, underscoring the urgency of the preemptive strikes.

The operation has already yielded significant results, with the IDF destroying about half of Iran’s missile launchers, some just minutes before launch, and inflicting damage on nuclear program components. However, Iran’s retaliatory missile barrages have struck Israeli cities.

Efforts to find a diplomatic resolution in Geneva today yielded no concrete result. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has indicated it may join Israel’s campaign but is holding off for now, creating uncertainty about potential escalation.

Speaking about the talks in Geneva, Trump said “They didn’t help. Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want — they want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help on this one.”

The failure of these talks has reinforced Israel’s resolve to rely on military action. “The IDF will not stand by and watch as threats develop,” IDF’s Chief of Staff declared.

Whilst speaking to reporters today, when the American President was asked about boots on the ground, he replied by saying “I’m not going to talk about ground forces. The last thing you want to do is ground forces.”

Speaking about Israel’s capability to strike Fordo, Trump said “They really have a very limited capacity. They could break through a little section, but they can’t go down very deep. They don’t have that capacity. And we’ll have to see what happens. Maybe it won’t be necessary.”

“I’m giving them (Iranians) a period of time. We’re going to see what that period of time is. But I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump added.