New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh)— Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed on Friday, March 6, 2026, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not briefed in advance regarding Israel’s pre-emptive strikes on Tehran, despite having concluded a high-profile two-day state visit to Israel just days before the operation began. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in the Indian capital, Saar clarified that the timing of the decision made prior consultation impossible.
“We have great relations with Prime Minister Modi and with India, and we have deepened our ties,” Saar stated during an interactive session at the conference. However, he explained that the final decision to launch the “broad-scale wave of strikes” was taken only in the early hours of Saturday morning, following the abrupt collapse of high-stakes negotiations between the United States and Iran earlier that week.
The Israeli Foreign Minister characterized the military campaign as a necessary measure to eliminate “existential threats” posed by the Islamic Republic. He accused Tehran of persisting with its nuclear programme, advancing long-range ballistic missile technology, and continuing its support for regional proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Saar also hinted at the potential for a broader political shift in the region, suggesting that the conflict might eventually lead to a change in the Iranian regime, though he noted such a change would ultimately need to be driven by the Iranian people themselves.
Addressing the significant concerns of the Indian diaspora and international travellers, Saar provided an update on the closure of Israeli airspace. He assured that Israel would begin to reopen its skies “in stages” to ensure the total safety of commercial aviation. The minister’s remarks come at a time of heightened anxiety for thousands of Indian nationals residing in West Asia, as the conflict continues to expand into Lebanon and across various Gulf nations.
