ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday stated that regime change in Iran is not among the objectives of Israel’s ongoing military campaign, dubbed operation “Rising Lion”, which began several days ago targeting Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. This as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the same day did not rule out such an outcome. “The goal is not a regime change,” said Sa’ar in an interview with CNN, emphasizing that “the Israeli cabinet had laid out objectives for its operations and regime change was not among them,” but rather concerned curbing “the missiles program, strategic weapons, and the nuclear program.” According to Sa’ar, Israel went ahead with its operation because the Iranian were making headway in their nuclear program and were inching close toward obtaining a nuclear weapon, “which we cannot allow.” At the same time Tehran was advancing towards a “huge missiles plan,” Sa’ar added. Despite these clarifications, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a slightly different outlook in a separate interview with Fox News the same day. While also stressing the operation’s main goals, Netanyahu acknowledged the potential for broader consequences. “Regime change in Iran could certainly be the result because it is very weak,” he said, adding, “We're geared to do whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim: to remove ... two existential threats - the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat.” Early Friday morning, Israel conducted what it called a “preemptive strike” targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and senior military commanders. Netanyahu then said the operation, dubbed Rising Lion, aimed to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” and warned that it could continue for days. Commenting on the operation’s progress, Sa’ar said, “We did significant things in harming the nuclear program, not only hurting the nuclear enrichment facilities” but also “took out leaders of the nuclear program.” Meanwhile, the Associated Press quoted a “U.S. official familiar with the matter” as saying former President Donald Trump had previously rejected an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, fearing it would provoke broader regional conflict. When asked about the report by Fox News, Israeli PM Netanyahu on Sunday declined to comment directly, saying, “We’ll do what we need to do,” and adding, “I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.” For its part, Iran has vowed to retaliate forcefully. Tehran’s leaders have threatened to “open the gates of hell” in response to Israel’s attacks, setting the stage for potentially wider escalation in the region.
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