Netanyahu directs Israeli security services to pursue Iran regime change

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on October 21 that he had directed the Israel Defense Forces, Mossad and other security branches to pursue the overthrow of Iran’s government, describing regime change as the only way to remove what he called a threat to Israel. Netanyahu made the remarks at a graduation ceremony for Israeli army officers, according to most accounts. One account placed them at an election rally in Dimona. His comments were also published in a post on his official account. The reports reproduce Netanyahu’s own remarks and do not independently establish the substance of his allegations about Iran’s nuclear intentions. Netanyahu accused Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, of continuing his father’s course and said Iran was again trying to develop nuclear weapons. These statements were allegations by the Israeli prime minister. The accounts did not provide an operational timetable or explain how or when the directive would be carried out. At the officer ceremony, Netanyahu told the graduating group that overthrowing Iran’s government was also their mission. He described Iran’s alleged weapons efforts as an existential danger to Israel. His...