Israel says it would have kept striking Iran if regime change was achievable
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we have a great victory in the campaign against the tyrant who came to destroy us, and with this victory we have removed two immediate existential threats to ensure Israel's eternity."
Speaking at the beginning of the first government meeting since the ceasefire with Iran, Netanyahu said, "We thought it was important to destabilize the Iranian regime during the time we had.
"If there were assessments that this was possible - we would have continued."
However, he said "such a revolution needs to come from within."
A lasting ceasefire between Iran and Israel would be a “positive development” for both regional and global stability, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday.
“If the ceasefire between Iran and Israel succeeds, it will be a good development that makes the Mideast and the entire world safer,” Merz said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Iran’s nuclear facilities were "badly damaged" in US and Israeli strikes, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday, adding that the attacks dealt a serious blow not only to infrastructure but also to diplomatic efforts.
“Our nuclear installations were badly damaged, that’s for sure, because they came under attack by Israeli and American aggressors,” Baghaei told Al Jazeera.
The strikes, he said, caused “a detrimental blow” to international law, ethics, and diplomacy.
Baghaei said that while Iran has not abandoned diplomacy, it questions the intentions of Western governments. “They are talking about dialogue and diplomacy, but at the same time, they are committing acts of aggression. These contradictions have only created more and more problems,” he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei
Asked whether Iran is willing to resume talks with the US, Baghaei said Tehran is focused for now on internal security and the public’s anger after the attacks.
“We have nothing to say about those contradictory remarks regarding diplomacy or negotiations,” he said. “We have to make sure whether the other parties are really serious when they're talking about diplomacy — or whether it is, again, part of their tactics to make more problems for the region and for my country.”
He also defended Iran’s move to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying the parliament’s decision was a direct and natural response to aggression. “Don’t you think it is only natural for the representatives of a nation that has come under an egregious act of aggression to reconsider the way they have been dealing with the IAEA?” he said.
Baghaei added that Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy remains intact and non-negotiable under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “Iran is prepared to reserve that right under any circumstances,” he said.
The contained spike and swift retreat in oil prices during the Israel-Iran war highlight a major shift in global energy dynamics: Middle East conflicts no longer move markets as they once did, according to an opinion piece by Reuters.
Brent crude rose 15% from under $70 on June 12 to $81.40 after US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities—but quickly fell back to $67 following a ceasefire and limited Iranian retaliation. There was no disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and global supply remained steady.
The restrained market response contrasts sharply with past crises,energy columnist Ron Bousso wrote. The 1973 oil embargo, 1979 Iranian revolution, and 1990 Persian Gulf War each triggered price surges of 50% or more. This time, traders appeared less alarmed.
The analysis points to improved transparency—thanks to satellite tracking and real-time data—as well as better infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE now export through pipelines that bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Regional producers also maintain storage in Asia and Europe, reducing short-term supply risk.
The author said that perhaps the world is less reliant on Middle Eastern oil. OPEC’s share of global supply has dropped to 33%, from over 50% in the 1970s, as output rises in the US, Brazil, and Canada.
The message from markets: Middle East flashpoints still matter—but they no longer dictate the price of oil, Bousso concluded.
Iran’s airspace will remain closed until Thursday at 14:00 local time (10:30 GMT), a spokesperson for the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development said on Wednesday.
Ramezan-Ali Choubdari, head of public relations for the Imam Hassan Mojtaba unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Alborz province, was killed in an Israeli strike on Monday, Iranian state media ISNA reported Wednesday.
