Netanyahu says fall of Iran's leadership is not the goal

20/6/2025 5:49

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

said on Thursday that the change or fall of Iran's leadership

was not a goal of Israel's attacks but could be a result.



"The matter of changing the regime or the fall of this

regime is first and foremost a matter for the Iranian people.

There is no substitute for this.



"And that's why I didn't present it as a goal. It could be a

result, but it's not a stated or formal goal that we have,"

Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's Kan public

television.



He said Israel had the power to remove all of Iran’s nuclear

facilities, whether U.S. President Donald Trump decides to join

in or not.



Netanyahu spoke before the White House said Trump would

decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved.



Military analysts believe Israel might need the help of U.S.

military bunker-busting bombs to destroy the Fordow Fuel

Enrichment Plant, the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program

buried beneath a mountain near the city of Qom.



Asked whether Fordow could be addressed with or without the

Americans, Netanyahu said: "We have the power to remove all our

targets, all their nuclear facilities, but the president's

decision whether he wants to join or not is again his decision.



"He will do what is good for the United States and I will do

what is good for the State of Israel and I must say that up to

this moment everyone is doing their part," Netanyahu said.



On Wednesday, Trump said the United States alone had the

capability to destroy or dismantle Fordow. "But that doesn't

mean I'm going to do it - at all," Trump said.