Netanyahu: Toppling Iran's regime is Israel’s ‘central mission’ and ‘within reach’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that toppling Iran’s Islamic regime remains Israel’s “central mission,” telling senior IDF officers at a Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) toast in Tel Aviv that the goal is now “within reach.”

“The regime is now faltering. It is weaker than ever. It is fighting for its survival,” Netanyahu said at the IDF General Staff Forum, crediting Israel’s military and intelligence operations against Iran and its regional terrorist proxies since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel.

“I am confident in our ability to remove this threat once and for all – in other words, to topple this regime,” Netanyahu continued. “That is the central mission that still lies ahead of us, but it is close. It is not impossible. It is within reach.”

Netanyahu also suggested that Iran’s current reluctance to directly confront Israel reflected the damage inflicted on its military capabilities.

“It is no coincidence that they are not attacking us. They are attacking everyone except us. They know our strength, the force of our blows and our determination,” he said.

He concluded with a warning to Israel’s enemies: “Don’t mess with us. If you have learned anything, don’t mess with us. We have the strength, the determination and the internal unity to defeat you.”

Earlier Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iran that the IDF was prepared to strike the regime’s critical infrastructure, “including energy infrastructure.”

Katz’s warning came after Reuters reported that Tehran had warned Washington it would respond forcefully if Israel targeted a “strategic” underground Hezbollah facility beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military announced on Friday that its forces had entered and cleared Hezbollah’s tunnel network in the Ali Taher Ridge ahead of a planned demolition of the underground facility, which reportedly served as the “nerve center” of Hezbollah’s regional Badr Division. The IDF said the Iranian-backed group had used the underground base to carry out attacks against Israeli troops and communities in northern Israel. Tehran has not publicly responded to the Israeli operation against the facility.

Israeli officials have warned that Iran’s elite Quds Force and Hamas have stepped up efforts to carry out terror attacks against Israelis and Jews abroad. Israeli authorities are also concerned that Iran or its proxies could seek to launch a surprise attack during the upcoming Jewish holidays or around the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack.

Meanwhile, tensions between Tehran and Washington are growing, with the two sides exchanging fire this week. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who has backed negotiations with Tehran, said the United States would not negotiate with Iran as long as the regime continues to block the Strait of Hormuz and attack commercial vessels in the region.

“We are not talking to the Iranians, and we are not going to talk to them unless they stop shooting at commercial shipping,” Vance told reporters. “My advice to the Iranians is 'stop acting like crazy people.'”