Netanyahu warns Iran leaders not safe as Israel intensifies campaign
Amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said there was “no life insurance” for Iran’s newly chosen supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Speaking during an interaction with reporters, Netanyahu said the joint military campaign by Israel and the United States against Iran was progressing “better than expected” and asserted that Israel is now “stronger than ever”.
‘No life insurance for leaders of terror organisations’
When asked whether Israel could target Mojtaba Khamenei or Naem Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, Netanyahu responded that he would not rule out action against leaders of groups hostile to Israel.
“I wouldn’t take out a life insurance policy on any of the leaders of the terror organisations,” he said.
Mojtaba Khamenei assumed leadership after the death of his father, Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israel strikes earlier this year.
Israel says military campaign is weakening Iranian forces
Israel launched its military campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Roaring Lion, on February 28, which was later joined by the United States under the name Operation Epic Fury.
According to Israeli officials, the campaign aims to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, dismantle its missile programme and weaken Tehran’s regional proxies.
Netanyahu said Israeli forces were delivering “crushing blows” to Iran’s security apparatus, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the paramilitary Basij.
Netanyahu hints at conditions for regime change in Iran
Addressing the Iranian public, Netanyahu said Israel and the United States were trying to create conditions that would allow the Iranian people to challenge the current government.
“The moment when you can embark on a new path of freedom is approaching,” he said. “We stand by you and we are helping you, but at the end of the day it depends on you.”
When asked whether Israel was directly seeking regime change in Iran, Netanyahu suggested that the decision ultimately rests with the Iranian people.
“You can lead someone to water, you cannot make him drink,” he said, adding that Israel would continue airstrikes to create space for protests rather than deploy ground forces to remove the regime.
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