Israel weighs regime change in Iran, former Israeli diplomat says
Israel is thinking about regime change in Iran as an option to avoid repeated rounds of conflict, former Israeli consul in Los Angeles said on Sunday.
Israel is thinking about regime change in Iran as an option to avoid repeated rounds of conflict, former Israeli consul in Los Angeles said on Sunday.
“Israel is thinking about the regime change in Iran, because otherwise we’ll have to go to a round after round after round,” Yaki Dayan said on Israel’s i24NEWS The Rundown program.
Dayan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to do significant convincing when he meets Trump later this month at Mar-a-Lago, particularly on backing further Israeli action against Iran.
"Netanyahu will have a lot of convincing here to do with Trump, not necessarily joining forces in another attack, but going to another attack and getting the defense capabilities from the Americans," he said.
Dayan said Trump is “much more in the peacemaking mode than attacking mode” on Iran and views the nuclear program as a more immediate threat than Iran’s ballistic missile program, which he said Tehran is currently prioritizing.
Dayan's remarks come as Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the force will strike its enemies “wherever required, on near and distant fronts alike,” in comments that appeared to allude to the possibility of further action against Iran.
Zamir said Iran had built what he described as a “ring of strangulation” around Israel, a reference to Tehran-backed groups operating across multiple fronts, and warned that the military was prepared to act both close to home and farther afield.
The activity involves movements and coordination beyond normal patterns, including Iranian drone, missile and air-defence units, the sources said.
The developments could be linked to military exercises, Western officials with knowledge of the matter told Iran International but added that the scale and synchronization had drawn closer scrutiny.
Intelligence services are tracking command-and-control signals, deployments and logistical movements associated with the IRGC Air Force, the sources said.
The assessments come amid continued tensions between Iran and Western countries over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs, and speculation about the possibility of renewed Israeli or even US attacks on Iran.
NBC News reported earlier today that Israeli officials are preparing to brief US President Donald Trump on options for possible new military strikes on Iran, citing concerns that Tehran is expanding its ballistic missile program.
Israeli officials believe Iran is rebuilding facilities linked to ballistic missile production and repairing air defenses damaged in a 12-day war in June, which they view as more urgent concerns than nuclear enrichment and fears of Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon, NBC reported.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but the United States and Western countries want Iran to end uranium enrichment, curb its missile power and rein its aid for armed groups in the region like Hamas and Hezbollah. Tehran has rejected the conditions.
Earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed speculations about a possible fresh round of war on Iran, calling it part of “enemy propaganda”.
“Today, beyond these military confrontations — which have existed, as you have seen, and whose likelihood is constantly being talked up, with some even deliberately fanning the flames to create anxiety, though they will not succeed, God willing — we are facing a propaganda and media confrontation,” Khamenei said.
