Addressing graduating IDF officers, Netanyahu explicitly ordered Israel’s military and intelligence agencies to pursue the overthrow of Iran’s government, declaring that removing the regime is the only way to eliminate the nuclear threat.
By Hezy Laing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given Israel’s military and intelligence establishment an explicit new objective: bringing down the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Speaking on October 21 at the graduation ceremony for IDF officer cadets at Bahad 1, Netanyahu declared that overthrowing the Iranian regime was the only way to eliminate the threat it poses to Israel.
“There is only one way to remove this threat once and for all: overthrow the regime in Iran. And that is my directive to the IDF, the Mossad and the security branches,” he said.
The declaration marks a significant expansion of Israel’s publicly stated strategic objectives. For years, Israel focused on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, disrupting its missile program and weakening the terrorist organizations it supports throughout the Middle East.
Netanyahu is now arguing that these measures cannot provide lasting security while the leadership responsible for those threats remains in power.
Why Netanyahu believes the regime must fall
The announcement comes after a dramatic transformation of Iran’s leadership. Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades, was killed in the opening Israeli-American strikes on February 28, 2026, and his son Mojtaba subsequently succeeded him as supreme leader.
Netanyahu accused the new leader of following his father’s path and attempting to revive Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
“Mojtaba Khamenei, the tyrant du jour, has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. He has pulled the safety pin, and Iran is attempting once again to develop the bombs of death,” Netanyahu said.
His argument is that destroying nuclear facilities and eliminating senior commanders will not permanently remove the danger if the same leadership remains in control and can eventually rebuild.
Iran also provides funding, weapons and military assistance to terrorist organizations including Hezbollah and Hamas, giving Tehran the ability to threaten Israel through allies across the region.
Netanyahu has described Iran as the head of an octopus, with its regional proxies serving as its tentacles. His stated objective is to strike at the center of this network and ultimately eliminate the threats it directs and supports.
The IDF and Mossad face different challenges
The directive places two of Israel’s most important security organizations at the center of an exceptionally ambitious mission.
The IDF has demonstrated its ability to penetrate Iranian air defenses, strike sensitive military installations, destroy missile capabilities and eliminate senior figures in Iran’s military leadership.
The Mossad has a different but equally important role. Its intelligence work can help Israel understand the regime’s leadership, identify threats within its security apparatus and uncover the relationships that hold the system together.
Military strikes can destroy facilities and disrupt command structures, but intelligence is essential to understanding how the regime operates and where its vulnerabilities lie.
Even the elimination of senior leaders does not necessarily bring down the system they created. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence services and other security institutions remain capable of replacing commanders, maintaining control and suppressing domestic opposition.
Overthrowing a government is harder than winning an air campaign
Israel has demonstrated that it can strike deep inside Iranian territory and inflict serious damage on the country’s military infrastructure. Turning those military achievements into the collapse of the Islamic Republic, however, is a much more difficult undertaking.
The IRGC is not simply another branch of the Iranian military. It is a powerful political, economic and security organization that helps protect the ruling system and maintain its control over the population.
Even if Israel further weakens Iran’s military capabilities, there is no guarantee that the Iranian public will be able to organize a successful uprising. Nor is there any certainty that a replacement government would be stable or less hostile toward Israel.
This is the central challenge facing Netanyahu’s strategy: military superiority can weaken a regime, but it cannot by itself determine who will govern the country afterward.
Washington’s role could prove decisive
Netanyahu has emphasized that he has discussed the Iranian threat and the possibility of further action with US President Donald Trump.
According to Netanyahu, Trump told him: “We are ready to finish the job, but we will do it only with you, the State of Israel.”
The statement points to the importance Netanyahu places on American cooperation, although it does not establish that Washington has formally adopted regime change as its own military objective.
American intelligence, logistical support, military capabilities and diplomatic backing could all prove important in any sustained campaign against Iran. The extent of Washington’s willingness to support such an effort remains a critical factor.
For Israel, the calculation is that leaving the current leadership intact could eventually allow Iran to rebuild its military capabilities, renew its nuclear ambitions and continue supporting terrorist organizations throughout the region.
Netanyahu has now made clear that simply containing these threats is no longer the objective he is publicly pursuing.
Israel has shown that it can reach Iran’s most sensitive military targets and inflict devastating damage on its leadership and infrastructure. Whether those capabilities can ultimately help bring down the regime itself remains an entirely different question.
