‘Changing regime’ of Iran not the goal, ‘could be a result’: Netanyahu on Israel-Iran conflict

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (Jun 19) that a change of Iran’s regime was not a goal of Israel’s attacks, but could be a result. This comes as the conflict between the foes enters its seventh day.

“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,” Netanyahu said in an interview aired on Kan public television. “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 also said that Israel is capable of striking all Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, but “all help is welcome.” He further claimed that Israel had destroyed more than half of Iran’s missile launchers as the fighting continues on the seventh day.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he will decide whether the United States will join Israel in its military operations against Iran in the next two weeks, the White House said in a statement.

The Israeli prime minister said that US President Donald Trump “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.” He added that Israel is “ahead of schedule” in its military operation against Iran.

“We are ahead of the schedule we set – both in terms of timing and results,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump said that only the US was capable of destroying or dismantling a nuclear facility at Fordow. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it - at all,” he said.