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3. Mossad Chief Tells Israeli Leadership Regime Change in Iran is Possible, Sources Say

Mossad Director David Barnea reportedly assessed in meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government prior to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that it could be possible to topple the Iranian regime, according to Israeli media.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, Barnea outlined that if the operation achieved key military objectives, including targeting Iran’s leadership and degrading its security institutions, the Mossad and the CIA would have the ability to encourage popular unrest and support an alternative to the current regime.

The report noted that Barnea included disclaimers, emphasizing the uncertainty of the situation and that achieving such outcomes could take an extended period.

Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the Iranian people at the launch of the operation, indicating that it could create conditions for regime change, while stressing that it would ultimately be up to Iranians themselves to act.

In the following weeks, both the U.S. and Israel have avoided publicly committing to regime change, focusing instead on what they describe as the security threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday that the U.S. intelligence community assesses the Iranian regime remains intact but “largely degraded,” and noted that if it survives, it will likely seek to rebuild its military capabilities.

In his first English-language press conference since the start of the war, Netanyahu outlined three objectives: ending the nuclear threat, ending the ballistic missile threat, and “creating the conditions for the Iranian people to grasp their freedom, to control their destiny.” He acknowledged “signs” that the regime is “cracking,” but declined to predict its collapse, saying: “I can tell you that we’re working to create the conditions for it to collapse, but it may survive, it may not. If it survives, it’ll be a lot weaker.”

The prime minister also indicated that a regime cannot be toppled solely by airstrikes, noting the potential need for a ground component, but did not provide details on what that could entail.