Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that overthrowing the Iranian leadership is an explicit goal of the Israeli security forces. This happened during a speech at a graduation ceremony for officers, DPA reported.
“There is only one way to eliminate this threat once and for all: overthrow the regime in Iran“, Netanyahu said. “This is my directive to the Israel Defense Forces, Mossad and the security services.“
The Israeli leader accused the Iranian leadership of not having learned from previous events. He said Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had decided to follow in his father's footsteps.
“The regime in Iran has not yet learned its lesson. Mojtaba Khamenei, today's tyrant, has decided to follow in his father's footsteps,“ Netanyahu said.
He added that the Iranian leader had “pulled the fuse“ and that Iran was once again trying to develop nuclear weapons, which Netanyahu described as “death bombs“.
According to the Israeli prime minister, while Iran seeks to destroy Israel, the existential threat to the Jewish state remains. DPA recalls that Tehran has consistently denied having any intention of creating nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu also said that US President Donald Trump, whom he described as his "close friend", shares his position. According to him, Trump recently said that he was ready to "see the matter through" with regard to Iran, but preferred to act jointly with Israel.
"And that is exactly what we will do", assured the Israeli prime minister.
He added that Israel and its allies would cut off the "head of the octopus", as well as its tentacles, referring to the Palestinian movement "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese group "Hezbollah".
At the end of February, Israel and the US launched a large-scale military operation against Iran. The former supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed early in the conflict in an Israeli airstrike on his official residence. In response, Iran launched a series of missile and drone strikes against Israel and US military bases in the region.
In April, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire. However, the war continues to have a significant impact on the global economy.