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The Independent
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Israel's stated aim is the destruction of Iran's nuclear weapons – but the real goal is regime change in Tehran
Israel's campaign to cripple Iran's nuclear programme and decapitate its military with bombardments across the west of the country is part of a comprehensive plan to remove the existential threat Iran posed to the Jewish State. The 'second-order effect' may be no less important - regime change. Israel's been planning this for years. It has shaped the battlefield with assassinations of nuclear scientists, the destruction of Iranian regional proxy militias, bombing of its missile facilities last year. This year, it has slipped Mossad intelligence agency commandos into the country where they've shown Ukrainian levels of innovation and used drones to snuff out Iran's air defences and target missile launch sites. Two more top leaders of the Iranian forces have been slain in meticulously targeted strikes. Politicians, though, have not yet appeared on the Israeli kill lists. That is deliberate. Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly tried to appeal to the Iranian people to rise against the Islamic regime that has ruled over them since 1979. On Friday, as Israel's first waves of 200 aircraft were conducting their first sorties against Iran he broadcast an appeal directly to the Iranian people. "Israel's fight is not against the Iranian people. Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you," Netanyahu said. "The time has come for the Iranian people to unite around its flag and its historic legacy, by standing up for your freedom from the evil and oppressive regime," he added. "This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard." Iran's regime is oppressive. It hangs poets and journalists, gasses school girls for protesting against being forced to wear head scarves and takes foreigners hostage. It has backed murderous campaigns by Hamas, created the militia-cum-mafia that is modern Hezbollah, and used the Houthis of Yemen to destabilise world trade through the Red Sea. These are 'military' operations, and so, for now, Israel is focusing its efforts on Iran's military officers and capabilities. The message from Israel, though, to politicians and surviving soldiers is that the smart money lies in removing the mullahs who have ruled Iran before Israel kills them, or another revolution sweeps every element of the current system away. 'Pandora's box has been cast wide open with Israel's sweeping overnight air campaign against Iranian targets — an escalation that risks reshaping the strategic landscape of the Middle East. By targeting senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leadership and nuclear infrastructure deep inside Iranian territory, Israel has signalled a willingness to confront Tehran at a scale and depth previously unseen,' said Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow, Middle East security, at the Royal United Services Institute. The exiled son of Iran's last shah, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, blamed the Israeli attacks on Iran's supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it was "Khamenei's war, not Iran's." In a statement shared online, Pahlavi appealed directly to Iran's military, police, and intelligence personnel, urging them to "separate yourselves from this corrupt and incompetent leadership" and "join the people." He said that the Islamic Republic's leadership 'values neither your lives nor the future of Iran… The solution is the overthrow of the Islamic Republic through street protests and nationwide strikes,' he said. Iran has fired 200 ballistic missiles in four waves against Israel in its first round of retaliation. Most have been shot down, but at least three Israelis have been killed by the counterattacks. This provoked Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, to threaten the kind of revenge that would destroy any hope of an uprising against the Islamic regime "The Iranian dictator is taking the citizens of Iran hostage, bringing about a reality in which they, and especially Teheran's residents, will pay a heavy price for the flagrant harm inflicted upon Israel's citizens. If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Katz raged. Israel has said that its campaign, which has already involved attacks on 150 sites, could take a week or even two. The military aim is clear – the total destruction of Iran's nuclear programme and the emasculation of its conventional military capabilities. With every wave of ballistic missiles Iran fires, its inventory falls and Israel's ability to identify launch sites increases. Israel says it has killed nine nuclear scientists but avoided other civilian casualties. Iran's state media has said that 60 civilians, including 20 children, have been killed by Israel so far. Israel's campaign in Gaza has shown that a Katz-style blitzkrieg of Iran is not a threat that the Jewish State is afraid of carrying out. So far, Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, at least half of whom have been women and children in Gaza. The Trump administration has protected Israel from much of the criticism for its operations in Gaza. But when it comes to Iran, there is unanimity in what western leaders would like to see as an outcome. They all want to see a regime change no matter how much they call for 'restraint'. Prising Iran out of its close relationship with Moscow, which is its biggest civilian nuclear power backer and which supports its operations in Ukraine, would be a huge bonus. Regime change in Iran could bring an oil-rich nation with an ancient culture, an educated population, that sits at the centre of geopolicy, would be an ideal outcome for the west. Tehran knows this, which is why it's threatened to attack British and French interests if they get involved in even helping to defend Israel against its rockets. Paris and London, meanwhile, are sitting back and enjoying the demise of Iran's nuclear programme while hoping to see the 'second-order effect' of Israel's Operation Rising Lion emerge as a revolution in Iran.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iran tried to fire 1,000 missiles at Israel but could only muster 100
As Israeli missiles rained down across the country, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, reportedly summoned his national security council for an emergency meeting. There was only item on the agenda: how strongly would – or could – the Islamic regime respond? Iran's military planning was already in disarray. Israel had killed its four most senior general in the meticulously executed opening salvoes of its campaign. Many of the country's first-line air defences and missile bases lay in smouldering ruins. The supreme leader was cautious. He wanted revenge, certainly, but warned that acting hastily could misfire. Others cautioned against provoking a wider war that might draw in the United States, especially now that Iran's ability to defend itself had been severely compromised. Doing too little risked the perception of meek capitulation. An order was given to launch a barrage of up to 1,000 ballistic missiles in a massive show of force intended to prove that Iran was far from a spent force. But in the end, Iran only managed to launch 100 missiles as Israeli strikes had disrupted efforts to move missiles from storage to launchpads quickly. There is no question that Iran's opening barrage brought destruction. Israel's multi-layered air defences, backed by US firepower, intercepted many missiles in the skies above Israel's cities – but not all. At least three people were killed and 21 more injured, according to Israel's emergency services. Iran's used half as many ballistic missiles as it launched last October in retaliation for the assassination Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, and Israel's incursion into southern Lebanon. But writing Iran off would be premature. Its long-range missile bases have reportedly been destroyed, but by no means all. It may be conserving ammunition in anticipation of a drawn-out campaign. Even with smaller salvos, it can clearly inflict significant casualties. Analysts suggested Iran's primary targets appear not to be Israel military sites but civilian population centres. Tehran has spent years preparing for an Israeli assault, but it is fighting from a far weaker position than it would have liked. Its 'long arm' – the far-flung network of proxy groups meant to encircle Israel in a 'ring of fire' – may not have been amputated but it has been fractured in multiple places. Hezbollah, once the most potent weapon in Iran's deterrence arsenal, has been so badly crippled that it cannot respond – and most likely does not wish to. Its surviving leaders are still seething over what they see as Iran's failure to aid them beyond October's missile strikes, widely viewed within the movement as performative. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the main conduit for Iranian weapons, has also severely hampered Hezbollah's efforts to rearm. Hamas, largely leaderless and fighting for its survival, is incapable of inflicting meaningful damage. Even a renewed Houthi campaign against international shipping in the Red Sea would do little to hurt Israel directly. Iran must therefore look to itself and it is unclear whether the mullahs can match their rhetorical bombast with meaningful military results. Tehran certainly appears to have fared worse in the opening salvos. The loss of so many of many senior officers and scientists stemmed from a startling miscalculation. Convinced that Israel would not strike before Iranian nuclear negotiators had met their US counterparts in Oman on Sunday, Khamenei's generals chose to sleep in their own beds rather than in safe houses – a fatal decision. Likewise Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran's aerospace forces, convened a meeting of his senior staff in defiance of a directive banning just such gatherings. All were killed. Those in the military and political hierarchy who remain alive will be looking at last year's Hezbollah precedent with considerable unease. Israel systematically eliminated almost ever single one of the group's top commanders, culminating in Nasrallah himself. Such is Israel's intelligence prowess that many analysts assume Iran's senior leadership has been penetrated and that even Khamenei himself may not be safe. These are hardly ideal conditions in which to plan a war.
Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear sites are long overdue
Israel is only slightly larger in area than Wales, with a population more than three times as big. It would, therefore, take only a handful of relatively crude atom bombs, in the 50 kiloton range say, to destroy it as a functioning state. Given this degree of vulnerability, a surprise attack by Israel on Iran's nuclear sites was always a distinct possibility. For the United States and its European allies a nuclear-armed theocracy in Tehran would be a deeply damaging development; for Israel it would present an existential threat. Since the revolution of 1979 that brought it into being, the Islamic regime has consistently called for the destruction of the 'Zionist entity'. While Israel has reached some form of accommodation with most of its former enemies in the Arab world, Iran has remained its implacable foe, creating a web of terrorist proxies and hovering menacingly on the nuclear brink. Now, after years of warnings and actual, though limited, operations, the government of Binyamin Netanyahu has waded into the Rubicon. Israel's airstrikes on Iran were unprecedented in scale and scope, the initial wave involving two-thirds of its air force launching some 300 weapons against some 100 targets. How the Islamic regime reacts to this calculated affront to its authority could determine its fate. • How Israel attacked Iran: from masked men in the desert to devastation Israel's practical goals in launching the attacks are open to interpretation but the rightness of its cause is not. In their insatiable hunger for the destruction of the Jewish state, and by their unceasing efforts to attain the means for that destruction, the mullahs in Tehran and their henchmen in the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have brought destruction upon themselves. No country can be expected to stand idly by while an avowed enemy works steadily, decade after decade, in secret to create the ultimate weapon. Israel's initial attacks have been too big to be symbolic, but on their own they may not be powerful enough to put to an end Iran's nuclear ambitions entirely. Israel's fighter fleet cannot carry the most effective deep-penetration munitions made by the Americans, and a shortage of tankers makes sustained long-range operations difficult. Mr Netanyahu may be hoping for any one of a number of outcomes. He may indeed be intent on destroying the bulk of Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure, or he may regard the air campaign as an arm twister intended to force Tehran to once and for all renounce nuclear weapons at the negotiating table. Or he could hope to deal a potentially fatal blow to the Iranian leadership's prestige, further exposing its weakness following the hobbling by Israel of its warrior proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the fall of its principal Arab ally, the Assad regime in Syria. These latter developments have seriously weakened Iran's ability to strike at Israel and have provided Israel's prime minister and his hawkish administration with a window of opportunity in which to act. A showdown with Iran might also help unify a country increasingly divided by Mr Netanyahu's prosecution of the war in Gaza. Whatever the end state desired by Mr Netanyahu, and he cannot himself be sure, the argument for this action is beyond dispute. If Israel cripples Tehran's nuclear programme it will have performed a service for all law-abiding nations, just as it did when it attacked the nuclear facilities of Iraq and Syria. Before the attack, Iran announced that it would begin work on an additional uranium enrichment site not previously disclosed to UN inspectors seeking to enforce the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A report just released by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency shows how for decades Iran lied and deceived its way towards an atomic bomb. That this state sponsor of terrorism, with the blood of countless innocents on its hands, should become a nuclear power is as terrifying as it is abhorrent. In protecting itself Israel is protecting the world.
Free Malaysia Today
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Netanyahu calls on Iranians to unite against ‘evil and oppressive regime'
Firefighters assess damage outside a damaged building north of Tehran after it was struck by Israeli airstrikes. (AP pic) JERUSALEM : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Iranians Friday to unite against what he described as an 'evil and oppressive regime', telling them Israel was engaged in 'one of the greatest military operations in history'. 'The time has come for the Iranian people to unite around its flag and its historic legacy, by standing up for your freedom from the evil and oppressive regime,' Netanyahu said in a video statement after Israel struck over 200 military and nuclear sites in the Islamic republic. 'We are in the midst of one of the greatest military operations in history, Operation Rising Lion,' he added. 'As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom,' he said, referring to Israeli strikes that hit targets across Iran, including nuclear sites, killing several top military commanders and nuclear scientists. 'The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker,' Netanyahu said in his video published shortly after a salvo of Iranian missiles reached Israel. 'Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you,' he said, adding: 'This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.' Netanyahu also promised that 'more is on the way', having said earlier that Israel's attack on Iran would 'continue for as many days as it takes'. Iran called the attack 'a declaration of war' and threatened to retaliate by opening 'the gates of hell' on Israel. It first sent about 100 drones towards Israel, many of which were intercepted before reaching the country. The drones were followed by dozens of missiles, some of which caused physical damage in Israeli cities, and injured at least seven people, according to first responders.
Russia Today
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Netanyahu tells Iranians to revolt
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Iranians to overthrow their government, as unprecedented hostilities erupted between the two countries. Netanyahu made his appeal just hours after Israeli jets bombed nuclear and military sites across Iran, targeting a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and killing several senior commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran responded with a barrage of kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles, several of which struck Tel Aviv. 'The time has come for you to unite around your flag and your historic legacy by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime. It has never been weaker,' Netanyahu said in a video address. 'This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard,' he added. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:To the proud people of Iran,We are in the midst of one of the greatest military operations in history, Operation Rising Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for almost 50 years threatens to destroy our country, the State of Israel. Netanyahu reiterated that the aim of the strikes, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, was to eliminate 'both the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat to Israel.' Iran condemned the attack as an act of aggression and vowed 'severe punishment.' DETAILS TO FOLLOW
