Israeli PM confirms focus on undermining Iran’s regime

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Israel's recent confrontation with Iran as a "great victory," during the first cabinet meeting held since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire.

“We achieved a great victory in the campaign against an enemy that came to destroy us,” Netanyahu told ministers, Caliber.Az reports via Israeli media. 

The prime minister claimed that the military operation succeeded in neutralizing two immediate existential threats to Israel’s security.

“We believed it was essential to undermine the Iranian regime during the time available to us. Had the assessments indicated further opportunity, we would have continued,” he said.

Despite the cessation of hostilities, Netanyahu signaled that lasting change in Iran must originate internally. 

“Such a shift must come from within,” he noted, alluding to the prospect of internal unrest or reform within the Islamic Republic.

On June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Within 24 hours, the Islamic Republic responded with a retaliatory strike. The exchange of attacks has continued, with both sides reporting casualties and damage to various targets. According to official sources, both Iran and Israel have acknowledged that several facilities were hit in the ongoing conflict. In a further escalation, on June 22, US forces carried out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites - Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan - raising fears of a broader regional confrontation.

By Naila Huseynova