Regime change in Iran within reach, says Mossad chief

Outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea urges Israel to make the toppling of Iranian regime a top priority, arguing that regime change is still achievable. 

By World Israel News Staff

Outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea said Israel should keep regime change in Iran at the top of its strategic agenda, arguing in a farewell address that the Islamic Republic is weaker and more vulnerable after the recent war.

Speaking Monday night at Mossad headquarters as he ended a five-year term, Barnea said Israel had not yet completed its campaign against Tehran.

“I promised that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon,” Barnea said. “Today, when the Iranian regime is weakened, challenged and more vulnerable, this is the time to complete the task and to exact a price from the regime that has engraved our destruction on its banner. We are in the midst of a historic and important campaign.”

Barnea went further, saying he still believes the Iranian regime can be brought down.

“I believed, and I still believe, that changing the reality in Iran by replacing the regime is a possible and achievable goal,” he said. “This is a possible mission, and it is clear that it will require determination, patience and adherence to the goal. This is our duty to future generations. This mission must remain at the top of our priorities.”

The remarks were delivered at a state ceremony attended by President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, senior defense officials, lawmakers, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, incoming Mossad chief Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman and former hostages and relatives of hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.

Barnea’s comments followed reports in recent weeks that he had promoted a plan aimed at undermining or replacing Iran’s regime, and that such ideas formed part of Israeli discussions before the decision to go to war with Iran earlier this year.

In his speech, Barnea described the Mossad under his command as an organization capable of shaping strategic reality, not merely collecting intelligence.

“From my first day as Mossad chief, I sought to influence the security reality through the amazing advantages of our organization: sophistication, the ability to operate out of sight and deception as a central motif,” he said.

“Today’s Mossad is capable of operating deep, surprising, and carrying out surgical and sophisticated operations, but also broad, significant and reality-changing operations — even during war.”

Netanyahu used the ceremony to praise Barnea’s role in several major operations, including the sabotage of Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon, the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and strikes on Hezbollah’s senior leadership. He said those blows, along with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, were milestones in the breaking of the Iranian axis.

Netanyahu called the Mossad a “super-brand” and said, “There is no better intelligence organization than the Mossad.”

Herzog said Barnea’s tenure had strengthened Israel’s ability to operate against Iran and deepen intelligence partnerships abroad.

“During your tenure as Mossad chief, you wrote a golden chapter in the history of Israel’s security,” Herzog said. “A chapter of deepening operational capabilities in Iran and against it, a chapter of building intelligence partnerships that cross borders.”

Barnea also highlighted the Mossad’s role in efforts to return Israeli hostages, saying no operational success compared with seeing abductees come home.

“In my years as Mossad chief, there was one commitment that came straight from the heart — a supreme moral, ethical and Jewish commitment: bringing the hostages home,” he said. “As someone who approved and commanded thousands of operations, and experienced many moments of success, satisfaction and pride over the years, I can honestly say that no feeling of excitement compares to the supreme feeling of our hostages returning home and our fallen being brought to burial in Israel.”