Netanyahu Says He Ordered Mossad and Military to Work Toward Toppling Iran's Government

The statement, made two days before Israel's parliamentary election, marks a notable public articulation of regime change as an operational Israeli government objective rather than a rhetorical...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said publicly on October 25, 2026, that he had instructed the Mossad intelligence agency and the Israeli military to work toward overthrowing the government of Iran, according to Al Bawaba, which reported on a Channel 14 television interview Netanyahu gave that day.

Netanyahu described Iran as a "wounded scorpion" in the interview, framing the regime-change objective as necessary for securing Israel's long-term future. The phrase suggested his assessment that Iran remains capable of military or proxy action despite recent setbacks, though the specific setbacks he was referring to were not detailed in the available reporting.

The timing of the statement is notable on its face. The interview aired two days before Israel's scheduled parliamentary election, meaning the remarks were delivered in an active domestic political context. Whether the statement reflected a standing operational directive, a new order, or a public framing of existing intelligence activities was not made clear in the reporting available as of October 25.

Israel and Iran have been engaged in a sustained period of direct and proxy conflict. Israeli strikes on Iranian territory and Iranian-linked forces in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza have been documented across 2024 and 2025 by multiple international news organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press. Iran has launched direct missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory, including a large-scale strike in April 2024 that was widely reported at the time.

Regime change as a stated Israeli government objective would represent a shift in public posture. Israeli officials have historically framed military operations against Iran in terms of neutralizing specific threats, such as nuclear infrastructure or missile stockpiles, rather than replacing the governing authority in Tehran. What, if any, formal policy documents or cabinet decisions underpin Netanyahu's October 25 statement is not publicly known.

The Mossad has been linked by foreign and Israeli media reporting to a range of covert operations inside Iran over recent years, including the 2020 killing of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which Iran attributed to Israel. Israel did not officially confirm responsibility for that operation at the time. Attribution for covert actions of this type is rarely confirmed through official channels.

Iran's government has not issued a formal public response to Netanyahu's October 25 remarks, based on reporting available at the time of publication. Iran's Foreign Ministry has separately been engaged in a public dispute with the United States over maritime activity, according to Press TV, though that matter is distinct from the Netanyahu statement.

The Israeli election scheduled for October 27 is a significant domestic political event. Netanyahu's Likud party and its coalition partners are competing against a range of opposition parties. Public statements on national security matters made in the days before an election carry both policy and political weight, and it is not possible from available reporting alone to assign a precise weight to each factor in Netanyahu's decision to make this statement on this date.

What would clarify the operational significance of Netanyahu's remarks would be official Israeli government documentation of any formal directive to Mossad or the Israel Defense Forces, or confirmation from Israeli military or intelligence officials of a change in standing operational objectives. Neither was available in public records as of October 25, 2026.

The statement is likely to draw responses from regional governments, European capitals, and Washington, though no such official reactions had been reported at the time this article was prepared. Iran's leadership has repeatedly stated that it holds Israel and the United States responsible for any internal instability, a posture that predates Netanyahu's October 25 remarks by many years.