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Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his armed forces will “do what we have to do” with Iran’s management as he claimed regime change may “definitely be the outcome” of Israel’s assaults on the Islamic republic.
The Israeli premier’s remarks — in response to a query about assassinating Iran’s supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — got here after a weekend of escalating hostilities the place the bitter foes traded strikes on cities and power infrastructure.
Since launching its shock assault on Friday, Israel has killed key figures Iran’s navy and nuclear programme and has launched air strikes throughout the nation, pitching the 2 of the Center East’s strongest militaries into outright warfare.
Requested in an interview with Fox Information whether or not ousting Khamenei’s regime was one of many objectives of Israel’s assault, Netanyahu mentioned it “may definitely be the outcome as a result of the management may be very weak”.
“Eighty per cent of the folks would throw these theological thugs out,” Israel’s prime minister continued. “The choice to behave, to stand up, is the choice of the Iranian folks.”
Requested a couple of Reuters information report that Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, Netanyahu mentioned: “There’s so many false studies of conversations that by no means occurred, and I’m not going to get into that.”
“However I can inform you, I feel that we do what we have to do, we’ll do what we have to do. And I feel the USA is aware of what is sweet for the USA,” he added.
Israel has lengthy pursued an assassination coverage in opposition to its enemies within the area. Its armed forces have decimated the highest ranks of the Iran-backed militant teams Hamas and Hizbollah since Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu spoke after Trump earlier on Sunday known as for a deal between the opponents, saying “many calls and conferences” had been now going down that will result in peace quickly. “Iran and Israel ought to make a deal, and can make a deal,” he wrote on Reality Social.
In a later name to ABC Information, Trump mentioned additionally Russian President Vladimir Putin was “prepared” to mediate — including that he was “open” to the thought and had mentioned it together with his Russian counterpart.
However regardless of Trump’s remarks Israel and Iran continued to commerce strikes on Sunday.
Israeli officers mentioned Israel’s armed forces had carried out strikes on greater than 80 targets, together with the ministry of defence, navy and nuclear websites, in addition to at the least two power amenities. Scores of Iranians have been killed within the assaults however authorities haven’t launched a complete determine for deaths and accidents.
Iranian state media reported that Israel had carried out quite a few assaults throughout Tehran together with at the least two in residential neighbourhoods within the metropolis centre, and struck a serious water pipeline, inflicting leaks in northern elements of the capital.
On-line movies additionally confirmed columns of fireside and smoke rising in downtown Tehran and different elements of the town, and police reported heavy site visitors at Tehran’s exit routes, signifying many residents had been leaving the capital for safer cities. Explosions had been reported in Mashhad, Iran’s easternmost metropolis, in an indication of Israel increasing its assault throughout the nation.
In the meantime, Iran continued to fireside barrages at Israel, together with one on Sunday afternoon, and three throughout the night time that killed 11 folks and injured greater than 200, in addition to hitting refining infrastructure within the port of Haifa, in keeping with a regulatory submitting from the Bazan group.
Officers from the 2 international locations additionally continued to commerce threats, with Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz threatening to inflict related destruction on Tehran because it did on Beirut in its offensive in opposition to the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah final yr. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged a “extra painful” response ought to Israel proceed its onslaught.