Netanyahu says regime change in Iran could be result of Israel s attacks

WASHINGTON - Regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel’s military attacks on the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on June 15, saying Israel would do whatever is necessary to remove the “existential threat” posed by Tehran.

Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” with a surprise attack on June 13 morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days. Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation.

Israel’s military has said the current goal of the campaign is not a change in regime, but the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Asked by Fox’s Bret Baier on his Special Report programme if regime change was part of Israel’s military effort, Mr Netanyahu said: “Could certainly be the result because the Iran regime is very weak.”

“We’re geared to do whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim, to remove ... two existential threats - the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat,” Mr Netanyahu said in one of his first interviews since Israel’s attacks began.

“We did act - to save ourselves, but also, I think, to not only protect ourselves, but protect the world from this incendiary regime. We can’t have the world’s most dangerous regime have the world’s most dangerous weapons,” he said.

Israel has said its operation could last weeks, and Mr Netanyahu has openly urged the Iranian people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers.

Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into June 15, killing scores and raising fears of a wider conflict, as US President Donald Trump said it could be ended easily while warning Tehran not to strike any US targets.