JERUSALEM (VINnews)-Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir declared that Israel had “cut off the head of the snake” in its ongoing military campaign against Iran, crediting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other security leaders for the operation that resulted in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a statement posted on X and delivered at the site of an Iranian missile impact in central Israel on Sunday, March 1, Ben-Gvir hailed what he described as a historic achievement in “Operation Roaring Lion,” a joint Israel-U.S. effort involving extensive airstrikes on Iranian targets.

“The era is over. We have cut off the head of the snake,” Ben-Gvir said, according to his message. He praised Netanyahu as a “determined prime minister who knows where he is leading” and extended credit to Defense Minister Israel Katz, members of the narrow and broader security cabinets, the Israel Defense Forces, pilots, fighters, commanders, Chief of Staff, Mossad chief, and Shin Bet chief.

Ben-Gvir also commended the police, led by the commissioner, for their resolve against those who “raise their head to try to incite against the State of Israel” or harm it, vowing that authorities would “smash them” and “cut off their head.” He urged citizens with weapons to carry them and called on the public to follow Home Front Command instructions.

Addressing critics who had urged restraint or doubted success — including those who “shouted at us before Iran to go home” — Ben-Gvir said, “In the end, you talk and we act, and we made history — the head of the snake was cut off.” He added, “We are winning in Iran, and we will continue until the end.”

Ben-Gvir framed the conflict in stark terms, accusing Iran’s leadership of seeking to “destroy all of us — right, left, secular, religious — they don’t care, they want to eliminate all of us,” and declared, “We are eliminating them one by one.” He expressed pride in Israel’s actions and vowed to “continue to do and lead the State of Israel to victories.”

The comments come amid escalating exchanges, with Iranian missiles striking Israeli civilian areas — including reports of fatalities in locations such as Beit Shemesh — following Israel’s strikes that killed top Iranian Terrorists, including Khamenei.