USA

‘We need boots on the ground, but they have got to be Iranian boots’

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Leiter said on Sunday that the Iranian people must take action to overthrow the regime of the Islamic Republic.

“I think we need boots on the ground, but they have to be Iranian boots, and I think they’re coming,” Leiter told CNN host Dana Bash. “State of the Union.”

He noted that the US-Israeli war with Iran will only end “when there is no presence in Tehran that can threaten the region.”

“Now, if this is going to happen by this regime changing its mind, it’s hard to imagine that, but assuming it’s going to happen, then that’s how it’s going to happen,” Leiter said.

However, he predicted that such an outcome could only occur if the Iranian people rose up against the regime. Leiter also noted that Iranian forces “brutally suppressed” protesters earlier this year.

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that in the first 50 days of demonstrations against the regime this winter, government-backed forces killed at least 6,488 protesters, at least 236 children, and at least 76 non-protesting civilians.

The nearly month-long military conflict escalated again on Saturday when Israel attacked a nuclear enrichment site in Natanz, Iran. Tehran retaliated by launching missiles at the Israeli cities of Arad and Dimona, which are close to Israel’s main nuclear facility.

Israel’s Ministry of Health said on Sunday: It was stated that 180 people from both cities were taken to Soroka Medical Center, 8 of them were in serious condition, 24 were in moderate condition and 148 were in mild condition.

Leiter promised that Israel’s response to this attack would be to “continue this campaign until we bring this regime to its knees.”

“We can no longer live with a country that has bad intentions, that intends to destroy us, that declares that it will destroy us at any moment, and now launches ballistic missiles at all its neighbors. This has to stop.”

Since the first US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, at least 1,406 Iranian civilians, including at least 210 children, have been killed as of Saturday. According to HRANA.

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