(Sept. 4, 2026 \/ JNS)\n <\/p>\n
Israel is capable of toppling the Iranian regime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, describing the goal as \u201cwithin reach.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am convinced of our ability to remove this threat once and for all; meaning, to topple this regime,\u201d Netanyahu said at a Rosh Hashanah toast with the IDF General Staff Forum at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. \u201cThis is the central mission still before us, but it is close. It is not impossible. It is within reach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu was joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and members of the General Staff.<\/p>\n
The prime minister said that Israel had achieved historic gains during three years of war, including in its operations against Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe faced the threat of annihilation by a regime that aspires to eradicate us and wants to arm itself with nuclear bombs to destroy us. We have pushed back this threat and other threats as well,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu noted that while Iran continues to attack other countries, it has refrained from attacking Israel. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are not just failing to attack us. They attack everyone, except us. They know our power, the force of our arm and our determination,\u201d he said. \u201cThis regime is currently faltering. It is weaker than ever before. It is fighting for its life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said in an interview aired on Monday that although Iran has been defeated, \u201cthere\u2019s just a little bit of a time lapse until it actually collapses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leiter said U.S. President Donald Trump \u201chas led an incredible effort to bring this regime down; I think it\u2019s going to happen soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ambassador likened Iran\u2019s situation to that of the Soviet Union in the \u201980s. While nobody could predict the exact date of its fall, U.S. President Ronald Reagan \u201csaw it coming,\u201d said Leiter. \u201cHe knew that it was the end of that evil empire. It was just a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel sends stark warning amid U.S.-Iran clashes<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Netanyahu issued a general warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI say to our enemies: Do not mess with us. If you have learned anything, do not mess with us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have the power, the determination and the internal unity to overcome you, and that is what I wish for the people of Israel in the coming year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned earlier on Thursday that an Iranian attack on the Jewish state would remove \u201cevery existing constraint\u201d on an Israeli response, including strikes on Tehran\u2019s civilian and energy infrastructure. <\/p>\n
Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah toast at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Katz said Israel would, if attacked, hit Iran\u2019s \u201cnational, military and civilian infrastructure,\u201d and send the Islamic Republic \u201cback deep into the Stone Age and darkness<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ayatollah regime in Iran knows very well why it is not attacking Israel: After we struck them powerfully twice [in June 2025<\/a> and February 2026], dealt a blow to the nuclear program, eliminated [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei<\/a>, and severely damaged their strategic capabilities,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n He said Israel had identified indications that severe economic pressure and concern over internal unrest and a possible collapse of the regime could drive Iran toward \u201cdesperate steps.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael is very well prepared, defensively and offensively, for every possibility, and the IDF is ready to carry out the mission,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz the \u201cTrump Strait,\u201d asserting that the strategic waterway was now under American control. Separately, he said that U.S. forces had destroyed Iranian equipment installed along the Strait of Hormuz during overnight strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took out all of the new equipment that they tried to build along the Strait of Hormuz, some defensive, some offensive,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe\u2019re prepared to do another one [such operation] anytime we want.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments came after U.S. Central Command on Tuesday completed a wave of strikes<\/a> targeting facilities operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps across Iran.<\/p>\n