(Adds dropped word in bullet, fixes story identifier)
By Alexander Cornwell
TEL AVIV, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Saturday that he backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to strike Iran, describing the campaign as a “just war against evil”
The U.S. and Israel launched a series of strikes on Iran, targeting senior leaders and calling for the overthrow of its government, sparking a wave of Iranian missile barrages fired at Israel and Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
“We are going to stand united against this threat,” Lapid told Reuters in Tel Aviv, shortly after emerging from a bomb shelter following sirens warning of an incoming Iranian attack.
Iran’s ballistic and nuclear programs and, if possible, the country’s leadership should be “obliterated”, he said.
Netanyahu, and much of the country’s political establishment have long warned Iran poses an existential threat to Israel.
RIVALRY SET ASIDE AS CONFLICT ESCALATES
Lapid, who was briefly prime minister in 2022 and is a fierce critic of Netanyahu, said that political differences with the prime minister would be put aside for the time-being.
The opposition leader also thanked President Donald Trump for what he described as the United States’ leadership of the operation against Iran, saying Trump had shown courage.
Last June, Israel launched a surprise attack against Iran, sparking a war between the Middle East powers that ended after 12 days when the United States joined Israel in bombing Iran.
More than 30 people were killed in Israel in that war, as Iranian missiles struck the country, including densely populated Tel Aviv. Over 900 were killed in Israeli strikes on Iran.
Asked whether Israel could sustain a conflict with Iran lasting weeks or months, Lapid said the country was “way stronger” than many people assumed, and said that unlike Israel, he doubted Iran would be able to sustain a prolonged war.
Israel is due to hold a national election by October, in which polls show the coalition led by Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving prime minister, may not be able to form government.
The country’s opposition is also splintered, although many seek to form a government without Netanyahu.
Israeli polls show Lapid’s Yesh Atid could lose seats at the next election, although his party may still be key to forming the government.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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