Netanyahu's True Goal in the War With Iran Is the One He Isn't Openly Admitting
Four days into Israel's war with Iran, its goals are becoming clearer: the aim is not just to stop Iran's nuclear project but to overthrow the ayatollah regime that has ruled since 1979 and replace it with one that will end the program on its own.
After the strike on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, the list of targets that Israel has attacked in the past 24 hours seems as if it were prepared by the Iranian opposition and all those who are eyeing regime change – police headquarters, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence directorate, and finally the state television broadcaster, accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz's childish tweets.
Even the Israel Defense Forces spokesman, in announcing the targeted killing of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence head, noted that he was "responsible for monitoring Iranian citizens for the purpose of repressing the people." How is that the IDF's business?
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This could be an interesting time if the Iranian opposition raises its voice in the streets with the backing of the Israel Air Force, whose drones will destroy any Basij vehicle that tries to disperse them.
A man who met with Netanyahu Monday described his mood as "from me to Moses, our master." Netanyahu often talks about "historical changes that will be talked about for generations." The fall of the Islamic Republic certainly fits the description.
Iran's nuclear installations are no longer commanding attention. The Fordow facility is still intact deep under a mountain. If Israel has not yet invented a new weapon unknown to anyone, the United States remains the only country that can destroy it.
Open-source intelligence enthusiasts have been watching for signs of B-52 bombers in recent days that could drop bunker-buster bombs on the facility. As of now, none of the 21 aircraft appear to have left their base in Missouri. Quite the opposite: last May, six of them returned home after being stationed in the Indian Ocean.
In a half-hour interview with Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu was asked about Fordow and whether he had asked Trump to deploy the bombs. He avoided giving a concrete answer.
Netanyahu's main message in the interview was that he was not telling the U.S. what to do. An Israeli source described the situation as: "We are cooking everything up for the U.S. Like in soccer, we broke through the opponent's defense, we passed all their players, and now we have given them a pass into the box where they are alone in front of the goalkeeper."
Netanyahu's goal is to scorch Iran and hope that Trump's megalomania and desire to leave a legacy will cause him to join in the destruction of Iran's nuclear sites, and perhaps the entire regime, and then enter the history books as the man who freed the world from the Iranian nuclear threat.