Netanyahu: Israel Aiming to Change the ‘Face of the Middle East’ with Strikes on Iran

Israel is ready to change the ‘face of the Middle East’ with its strikes against Iran, declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He assessed that this could lead to ‘radical changes’ in the country, on the fourth day of the massive offensive launched by Israel against Iran. “We are changing the face of the Middle East, and this can lead to radical changes within Iran itself,” Netanyahu stated during a televised press conference, after detailing what he presented as a series of successes since the start of Israel’s attack on the Islamic Republic, particularly the decapitation of Iran’s security leadership. “We have neutralized Iran’s security leaders, including three heads of the general staff, the head of the Air Force, and two intelligence service chiefs. We are neutralizing them one by one,” he said. Netanyahu explained that their main targets include the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program, the eradication of ballistic missile production capabilities, and the destruction of the terrorism axis, referring to Iran’s regional allies hostile to Israel, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Palestinian Hamas, and the Yemeni Houthi rebels, against whom Israel has inflicted heavy blows over the past twenty months. “Certainly, we will do what is necessary to achieve these goals, and we are well coordinated with the U.S.,” Israel’s primary ally and main arms supplier, he emphasized. According to Netanyahu, the Iranian people’s perception of their government has changed. “Today they are filled with hope,” he stressed. “They understand that the regime is much weaker than they thought.” “They realize this and it can produce results,” he underscored, implying that a change of power in Iran ‘could’ be one of those outcomes. “Let me remind you that no one predicted the rapid collapse of the Soviet Union,” and just days before it happened in December 2024, ‘few’ had foreseen the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where Israel feels satisfaction for having contributed, he highlighted.