Netanyahu threatens Iran new leader, says government collapse uncertain
Written by: Maayan Lubell and Rami Ayyub
JERUSALEM, March 12 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled threat on Thursday to kill Iran’s new religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei, even as Israel acknowledged that a joint air war with the United States may not lead to the collapse of Tehran’s religious government.
Holding his first press conference since the start of the war, the Israeli leader said Iran was “no longer the same” after nearly two weeks of bombardment and that Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij paramilitary force had suffered blows.
He vowed to continue hitting Lebanon’s Hezbollah after the Iran-backed group opened fire on March 2 in revenge for Israel’s killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei (Mojtaba Khamenei’s father) at the beginning of the war.
Standing between two Israeli flags and asking questions via video link, Netanyahu was asked what steps Israel could take against Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem:
“I will not take out a life insurance policy on any leader of the terrorist organization… I do not intend to give a definitive report on what we are planning or what we will do here.”
As Netanyahu spoke, sirens warning of missile fire from Iran rang through central Israel.
Israel said the aim of the attack on Iran was to eliminate the existential threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. He also says he wants to cause the government to collapse by encouraging Iranians to revolt.
While many Iranians want change and some openly celebrate the death of Ali Khamenei, whose security forces killed thousands of anti-government protesters just weeks ago, there have been no signs of protests since the start of the war.
When asked whether Israel could arm opponents of Iran’s rulers and ensure the collapse of the government, Netanyahu said that even if the government did not fall, it would remain weak.
Netanyahu said, “I will not give the details of our actions. We are creating the most favorable conditions to overthrow the regime, but I will not deny that I cannot tell you with complete certainty that the Iranian people will overthrow the regime, that a regime will be overthrown from within.” he said.
“But we can certainly help, and we do.”
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, Rami Ayyub and Steven Scheer)
