Netanyahu says campaign 'changing face of Middle East' as Israel, Iran trade blows

New Straits Times

6 hours ago

TEHRAN: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday that Israel's campaign against Iran was "changing the face of the Middle East", as the two countries traded heavy strikes for a fourth day.
The remarks came hours after a dramatic Israeli attack on an Iranian state TV building that forced a presenter to flee mid-broadcast under a shower of dust and debris – prompting a threat of retaliation against Israeli news channels by Tehran.
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel on Friday launched a surprise aerial campaign against targets across Iran, saying they aimed to prevent its arch-foe from acquiring atomic weapons, an ambition Tehran denies.
The sudden flare-up in hostilities has sparked fears of a wider conflict, with US President Donald Trump urging Iran back to the negotiating table after Israel's attacks derailed ongoing nuclear talks.
While Trump has maintained that Washington has "nothing to do" with its ally's campaign, Iran's foreign minister said Monday that the US leader could halt the attacks with "one phone call."
Israel's strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.
Netanyahu told a press conference Monday evening that Israel was eliminating Iran's security leadership "one after the other."
"We are changing the face of the Middle East, and that can lead to radical changes inside Iran itself," he said.
Iran has launched several waves of missiles in retaliation for Israel's attacks, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards warning of "more devastating operations" to come.
In Tehran, the live feed of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) was interrupted when an Israeli strike hit its building on Monday.
The presenter was in the midst of lambasting Israel when an explosion rocked the facility, causing the monitors behind her to cut out and sending debris raining from the ceiling, live footage showed.
Video released by the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website later showed the building in flames.
Israel had previously issued an evacuation warning for the part of town where IRIB is located, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying before the strike that Iran's "propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear."
IRIB resumed its broadcast shortly after the strike, with a senior official at the service saying "the voice of the Islamic revolution... will not be silenced with a military operation."
Iran later "issued an evacuation warning for the N12 and N14 channels of Israel", state TV reported, calling the order a "response to the hostile attack" on IRIB.
In Israel, the military reported a fresh salvo of Iranian missiles on Monday evening targeting the north of the country, where residents were advised to take cover.
Iranian attacks earlier on Monday hit Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa – leaving behind shattered homes, smouldering wreckage and stunned residents picking through debris.
"I have four children, four boys. We're very scared, but everyone is OK," said Idan Bar, whose building in Petah Tikva was among those hit.
The death toll in Israel rose by 11 on Monday, the prime minister's office said, bringing the total since Friday to 24. The figure included three people killed when a missile struck an oil refinery in Haifa on Sunday, according to an Israeli official.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said a nearby missile strike lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv, while the US State Department warned citizens on Monday not to travel to Israel due to security concerns.
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was also leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it was headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence there.
International calls for calm have mounted since the fighting began.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters at the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies on Monday that he believed his fellow leaders were united in wanting de-escalation, adding the "risk of the conflict escalating is obvious."
China called on both sides to "immediately take measures to cool down the tensions" and avoid plunging the region into deeper turmoil.
Trump, also speaking from the G7 summit, urged Iran to come back to the negotiating table.
"They have to make a deal, and it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it's too late," he said.
The United States and Iran had engaged in several rounds of indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear programme in recent weeks, but Iran said after the start of Israel's campaign that it would not negotiate while under attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that "absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue."
"If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential," he said on X.
"It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy."
A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility when asked about the reports during an interview with ABC News.
"It's not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict," he said.