Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Mar 13: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday delivered a stark message to Tehran, issuing a veiled threat against Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, even as he conceded that Israel’s joint air campaign with the United States may not topple Iran’s clerical government.
In his first press briefing since the war began, Netanyahu asserted that Iran is “no longer the same” after nearly two weeks of heavy bombardment, saying Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij paramilitary force have taken significant hits.
Vowing to continue striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah — which opened fire on March 2 in retaliation for the killing of Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba’s father and Iran’s former supreme leader — Netanyahu stood poised between Israeli flags and took questions via video link.
When asked if Israel might target Mojtaba Khamenei or Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem, Netanyahu replied cryptically: “I wouldn’t issue life insurance policies on any of the leaders of the terrorist organization … I don’t intend to provide an exact report here about what we are planning or what we are going to do.”
His remarks were punctuated by air raid sirens warning of incoming missiles from Iran across much of central Israel.
Netanyahu reiterated that Israel’s assault aims to neutralise what it sees as an existential threat from Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and to foster conditions for regime collapse by emboldening internal dissent.
While some Iranians reportedly welcomed the death of Ali Khamenei, whose forces crushed anti government protests just weeks earlier, there has been no sign of renewed unrest since the war began.
Pressed on whether Israel is arming Iranian opposition and whether regime collapse might still elude them, Netanyahu acknowledged uncertainty: “We are creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime… but I won’t deny that I can’t tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will topple the regime — a regime is toppled from the inside. But we can definitely help and we are helping.”