Israeli officials close to Netanyahu say military force alone cannot topple Iranian regime

Netanyahu, meanwhile, has stopped publicly urging Iranians to rise up against their government.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel has shifted its air campaign against Iran toward damaging the country’s military industry and away from efforts to destabilize its government as senior Israeli security officials and members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle assess that military force alone cannot bring down the Iranian regime, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported that figures close to Netanyahu and senior defense officials believe military strikes can weaken Iran’s leadership and damage its capabilities but are insufficient to cause the regime’s collapse.

The change in Israel’s targeting indicates that the country has “given up on the hope of toppling the Iranian regime from the air,” the newspaper reported.

Israel’s military has not recently announced additional strikes against Iranian internal security services.

Attacks on Basij forces have also stopped after earlier strikes forced them into hiding without breaking their control on the ground.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, has stopped publicly urging Iranians to rise up against their government.

The assessment contrasts with Netanyahu’s public position that overthrowing the Iranian regime is Israel’s “primary objective.” He has instructed the IDF and Mossad to prepare plans to end the threat by removing the regime.

Reports have also indicated disagreements between Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over proposed military action against Iran before Israel’s elections. Zamir has reportedly raised operational and legal objections.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed caution or opposition to expanding the conflict or pursuing a full regime-change campaign ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Separately, U.S. officials expressed concern about an AI-generated image Netanyahu shared showing Tel Aviv under Iranian nuclear attack, N12 reported.

White House officials feared Tehran could interpret the image as a signal that Israel was preparing an imminent strike, potentially prompting an Iranian attack and renewed escalation.

Netanyahu published the image ahead of Israel’s elections on Tuesday, focusing on the nuclear threat from Iran.