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David Zimmermann


NextImg:Israeli leaders send mixed messages on Iran regime change

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday that Israel is not aiming to eliminate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or set into motion a regime change in Iran — a statement that conflicts with an Israeli Security Cabinet member’s comments earlier in the day.

“We don’t have a goal on Khamenei, nor do we have a goal on regime change,” Herzog told the Axel Springer Global Reporters network, per Politico. “But it could be historically a clear side effect of major historical consequences that will do good to the Iranian people.”

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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz previously suggested that his nation’s military should assassinate Khamenei, whom he likened to Adolf Hitler.

“I compare it to the scenario in which, during the horrific Holocaust, if the State of Israel had existed and a strong Israel Defense Forces had existed, and we knew we could send the IDF into a bunker to capture the enemy of the Jewish people, Hitler, in order to thwart his plan to annihilate the Jews, we would have done it,” the defense minister said.

“We would have sent the IDF, extracted him, and eliminated him,” he added. “And just like that, correspondingly, I see the current situation — Khamenei is the modern Hitler.”

Herzog, meanwhile, specified that Israel is committed to eliminating Iran’s nuclear and missile programs first and foremost.

“We are dealing with the Iranian nuclear program, which is a monstrosity, an octopus monstrosity, and has many elements, and we need to remove and delineate their capability,” he said.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he believes Iran is “very close” to developing a nuclear weapon. Months earlier, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before Congress that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and that Khamenei had not authorized the nuclear program since it was suspended in 2003. Her conclusion was based on ongoing intelligence assessments.

Trump dismissed Gabbard’s statement when asked by reporters about her March testimony, saying, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.”

Gabbard later told reporters that she and the president were “on the same page.”

Iran produced an estimated 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, according to reports. This falls far below the 90% target required for nuclear weapons, but multiple bombs could be developed if the uranium were further enriched.

Amid the mixed messaging from Israel and the United States, Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, predicted the imminent collapse of the Iranian regime and called on the Iranian people to “reclaim and rebuild” the nation by establishing democratic rule.

“Do not fear the day after the fall of the Islamic Republic,” Pahlavi wrote on social media this week. “Iran will not descend into civil war or instability. We have a plan for Iran’s future and its flourishing. We are prepared for the first hundred days after the fall, for the transitional period, and for the establishment of a national and democratic government—by the Iranian people and for the Iranian people.”

Israel launched missiles targeting Iran’s nuclear sites and top generals last week, prompting Iran to retaliate. Israel and Iran have continued to exchange missiles this week, with Tehran striking a major hospital in southern Israel and hitting residential buildings in Tel Aviv.

Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should intervene in the Israel-Iran conflict. He is expected to make a decision on whether to launch strikes against Iran within the next two weeks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

TRUMP TO GIVE HIMSELF TWO WEEKS TO DECIDE WHETHER TO STRIKE IRAN

Regardless of whether the U.S. joins Israel in an official military capacity, Herzog said Israel will “respect” Trump.

“We think that President Trump has the wisdom, the capabilities, and the clear understanding of the situation,” Herzog added. “I think that this is a rare opportunity to remove a threat which has been looming over the world.”