Netanyahu Says Toppling Iran's Regime Is Israel's 'Central Mission'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that toppling Iran's Islamic regime has become Israel's "central mission," declaring that the goal is now "within reach."

Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah toast with the Israel Defense Forces General Staff Forum in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said Iran's leadership was "weaker than ever" and "fighting for its survival."

"I am convinced of our ability to remove this threat once and for all. That means toppling this regime," Netanyahu said, according to The Times of Israel.

"This is the central mission still ahead of us, but it is close. It is not impossible. It is within reach," he said.

Netanyahu credited Israel's military campaign against Iran since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack with weakening what he described as the Iranian threat.

His comments represent a more explicit declaration of regime change as an Israeli war objective than some of his earlier statements.

In June, after a previous phase of fighting with Iran, Netanyahu said Israel had created conditions that could eventually lead to the fall of Iran's regime, but he said at the time that regime change had not been among the stated objectives of that campaign.

The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu instead described the main goals as removing Iran's nuclear and ballistic-missile threats.

The latest declaration comes as fighting and tensions between Israel, Iran and the United States continue.

The United States and Israel have targeted Iranian military and nuclear facilities, while Iran has continued retaliatory attacks against U.S. positions and other targets in the region.

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States could soon target Iran's heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain site near the damaged Natanz nuclear facility. Reuters reported that the site contains two deeply buried tunnel complexes.

The latest escalation also comes as the United States, Britain, France and Germany are pushing the International Atomic Energy Agency board to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over Tehran's nuclear activities and its refusal to provide inspectors access to some damaged nuclear sites.

Reuters reported Friday that Iran had previously held hundreds of kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, a level below weapons-grade but well above the enrichment needed for civilian nuclear power.

Netanyahu has repeatedly argued that Iran's nuclear program and missile capabilities pose a serious threat to Israel.

On Thursday, however, he put the removal of Iran's ruling regime itself at the center of Israel's stated objective.

"Don't mess with us," Netanyahu said in remarks directed at Israel's enemies, according to The Times of Israel.

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