IDF strikes Iranian nuclear sites & internal security forces, but PM Netanyahu warns: Only Iranian people can topple the regime

The Israeli Air Force has carried out continuous waves of airstrikes across Iran over the past day, striking a nuclear site, bases and roadblocks belonging to the regime’s internal security forces.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed in his first press conference of the war that Israel’s actions might not be enough to topple the regime. Reuters reported on Thursday that a “multitude” of U.S. intelligence sources have provided “consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger” of collapse and “retains control of the Iranian public.”

“We are crushing the nuclear infrastructure, the missile and launcher array, the headquarters of oppression, the regime's power centers, and many more targets,” Netanyahu said on Thursday evening.

*Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Remarks at his Press Conference* pic.twitter.com/IxWeitLbZ2

— Government Press Office 🇮🇱 (@GPOIsrael) March 12, 2026

“Simultaneously, we are acting to promote another goal: To create the conditions for the Iranian people so they can remove the cruel regime of tyranny that has ruled them for nearly half a century. We are landing crushing blows on the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij, both in the streets and at checkpoints – and we are still active.”

Addressing the Iranian people, Netanyahu stressed that the moment “when you can embark on a new path of freedom” is approaching. “But at the end of the day – it depends on you! It is in your hands!”

Speaking to reporters afterward, the prime minister acknowledged: “I do not deny it: I cannot say for certain that the Iranian people will bring down the regime.”

“You can lead someone to water; you cannot make him drink,” he added.

We are eliminating Iran’s ability to threaten American forces and regional partners through lethality and precision. pic.twitter.com/5Dkku2b3Nd

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 12, 2026

On Friday, Israel Defense Forces announced that it had struck over 200 targets during 20 wide-scale strikes – most of them in western and central Iran – including Tehran, Shiraz, and Ahvaz, over the past 24 hours. American forces are reportedly focusing their strikes on the southern and central parts of the country.

The Israeli military revealed Thursday that it had struck the “Taleghan” compound at Parchin, a nuclear site secretly “utilized by the regime to advance critical capabilities for developing nuclear weapons.”

🎯STRIKES AGAINST THE IRANIAN TERROR REGIME CONTINUE

📍Shiraz, southern Iran:
An underground facility for ballistic missile storage and production

📍Tehran:
A central base for aerial defense array & several production sites for weapons, aerial defense systems, and ballistic… pic.twitter.com/qbPdkJPOZg

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 13, 2026

David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security said the satellite images of the site showed it was “likely destroyed internally. Three holes can be seen in the soil covering its roof.”

The IDF reported that advanced explosives were developed at the site and that the regime had used them to “conduct sensitive experiments as part of the ‘AMAD’ project, the covert nuclear weapon development program in the 2000s.”

A satellite image by Vantor shows three impacts at the Taleghan 2 nuclear facility near Tehran, following the Israeli airstrikes. https://t.co/FFKht64f86 pic.twitter.com/uuXLceqXHW

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 12, 2026

Last November, it was revealed that Israel had struck a previously assumed dormant nuclear weapons research site – believed to contain sophisticated equipment that would have been necessary for Iran to create a nuclear device.

The IDF noted that it has “operated systematically against knowledge centers and infrastructure related to the Iranian nuclear weapon… the strike on the ‘Taleghan’ compound joins other strikes related to eliminating the Iranian nuclear weapon threat, including the March 3, 2026, strike on the Minzadehei compound.”

In other strikes, the Israeli Air Force dismantled “over 250 Iranian aircraft and hundreds of launchers” so far. In a recent wave, Israeli jets struck “operatives from the regime’s UAV array as they were arming an aircraft and preparing to launch it,” the Israeli military reported.

The IDF confirms carrying out drone strikes against members of the Basij paramilitary force in Tehran over the past day, publishing footage of the attacks.

According to the military, the Basij established checkpoints in several areas of Iran's capital in recent days.

Following… pic.twitter.com/7uXDjN2XcV

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 12, 2026

In another key development, the IDF confirmed reports that it was targeting roadblocks erected by the Basij militia across Tehran.

“Following the wide-scale degradation of many Iranian Security Internal and Basij Forces assets, the IDF recently identified that soldiers of the Basij Unit had established roadblocks in several locations across Tehran… these forces led the regime’s primary efforts to suppress internal protests, particularly in recent months, employing severe violence, mass arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators,” the IDF said.

These strikes apparently hit a nerve with the Iranian regime. Amit Segal of Channel 12 News reported that “official media outlets in Iran are convinced that last night’s targeted strikes on Basij checkpoints were intended to reignite unrest in the country.”

“According to a report last night by the Fars news agency, at least 10 security and Basij personnel were killed in attacks at several locations in the capital, Tehran. An intelligence source quoted by the news agency also pointed an accusing finger at the Mossad.”

Samira Gharaei, correspondent for the opposition-aligned Iran International outlet, wrote on 𝕏: “After an Israeli drone strike targeted checkpoints whose job is to conduct security screenings – checkpoints that in recent days have killed several people for celebrating the death of Khamenei – the Speaker of Parliament, a figure many believe could be eliminated by the U.S. or Israel, is now urging regime supporters not to leave the streets under any circumstances. He says the armed forces have put their lives on the line, and that the people must not abandon the streets.”