Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was coy about whether the ultimate goal of the preemptive strikes on Iran is a regime change, but made clear that such a powershift would be a welcome outcome.
“I truly believe we have a great future if we take out Iran,” Netanyahu told Fox News during a special edition of “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Sunday, during a discussion about the Arab reaction to the strikes.
“Iran has been the systemic, systematic fomenter of wars, sabotage, terrorism,” he added. “They want to conquer the Middle East. And the one obstacle they’ve had so far is the state of Israel, because we’re the ones fighting the Iranians.”
Last week, Israel carried out preemptive strikes on several of Iran’s nuclear facilities, killed top military brass, wiped out leading scientists, missile sites and more.
President Trump had steered Israel away from assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Axios and Reuters reported. Netanyahu declined to confirm or deny that.
Khamenei is 86 years old, and it is not fully clear who his successor will be. One possible contender, hardliner and former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash last year.
The Israeli leader also predicted that the Iranian regime could collapse in the wake of Israel’s military campaign.
“It could certainly be the result, because the Iran regime is very weak,” Netanyahu said when pressed if regime change is the objective.
“I think it’s basically left with two things: its plans to have atomic bombs and ballistic missiles. That’s basically what Iran has. They certainly don’t have the people, 80% of the people who throw these theological thugs out.”
Netanyahu also noted that he has been sending video messages to the people of Iran encouraging them to resist the theocratic regime.
“I say to them, your hour of freedom is near. Rise up, be free,” he said of his message.
Over the past two years, Israel has made remarkable progress at knocking back some of its top adversaries.
Last year, it took out former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and carried out a stunning exploding pager attack that killed off top leaders within the terror group.
Then, the Assad regime in Syria fell, and the neighbor’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has conveyed openness to mending ties with Israel. Israel has also dramatically beaten back Hamas, killing off leaders like Yahya Sinwar.
But the Iranian regime, which has backed many of those proxy forces, remains Israel’s most capable adversary.
Israel’s strikes on Iran, which Netanyahu said are “just the beginning,” came ahead of planned negotiations between Tehran and the US in Oman on Sunday. Those deliberations were ultimately canceled.
Trump has publicly predicted that Iran and Israel will “make a deal” and that the preemptive strikes could hasten such a breakthrough.
