MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to reporters yesterday about Israel's war with Iran.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Non-English language spoken).
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
He's saying there that Israel won't be dragged into a war of attrition, but that it also won't end the war until it's achieved its objectives to degrade Iran's missiles and nuclear program. In the meantime, both countries exchanged more fire this morning.
MARTIN: For the latest we're joined by NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Tel Aviv. Hadeel, good morning to you.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: Yesterday, you visited an attack site in Tel Aviv. What did you see there, and what did you hear there?
AL-SHALCHI: That's right. So yesterday, around 7 a.m., Iran's first move after the U.S. bombed its nuclear sites was to fire missiles towards Israel. I recorded this from outside my home.
(SOUNDBITE OF MISSILES EXPLODING)
AL-SHALCHI: So that's a taste of what we hear in Tel Aviv almost every day. Some of those booms are missiles being intercepted, but yesterday, the affluent neighborhood of Ramat Aviv in northern Tel Aviv was hit. I visited the area. An entire residential high-rise building was gutted. Shattered glass crunched under our feet, and people were trying to get back into their homes to collect their belongings. Talking to people here, there is overwhelming support for the war. People say that Iran has posed an existential threat to Israel with its nuclear program for decades and that Israel had to do something about it.
MARTIN: How does Israel assess the impact of what the U.S. has done in Iran?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, Israel is saying that significant damage was done to the three nuclear sites that the U.S. struck, but it says it's also still assessing that damage. The U.S. said it wasn't sure where Iran's supply of uranium is. This stockpile is stored in small vessels that can fit into a number of cars and then moved around. The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, said he believes that the stockpile was moved. And then Israeli analysts here say the entire nuclear program has not been destroyed, that Iran likely has the uranium and centrifuges hidden somewhere and that they could develop maybe weapons in secret.
MARTIN: And what might Israel's next moves be?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, it largely depends on Iran and how it retaliates. But the Israeli military said it is continuing to strike Iranian military targets. It did that this morning. And then there's also a feeling here that Israel wants to find a way to wrap up this war with the help of the U.S. And the U.S. says it's time for talks and diplomacy. There is a fear in Israel that the two countries, Iran and Israel, will just fall into this routine of exchanging fire for a long time, a tit for tat that becomes a new reality.
MARTIN: Hadeel, before we let you go, there was a steady drumbeat last week among Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, about regime change in Iran. Where is that conversation now?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, actually, reporters asked Netanyahu about that yesterday. And he said that the goals of this war were to remove Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile threats. That's all he said. Also, President Trump is calling for a deal with this Iranian government, and Vice President JD Vance said last night that regime change is not the goal. And then, you know, looking way ahead, Israelis hope that wrapping things up with Iran will also create the impetus to end the older conflict in Gaza. Netanyahu told reporters he's waiting for a response from Hamas, that he hoped the two sides could agree to a two-month ceasefire, negotiate a permanent ceasefire and bring back the hostages.
MARTIN: That's NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Hadeel, thank you.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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