From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Ex-Mossad chief calls for Israel to carry out regime change in Iran, eliminate Khamenei
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Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen calls for Israel to carry out regime change in Iran, diverging from the official Israeli line.
“I would recommend to the prime minister and to the enlightened world… to take advantage of this phenomenal opportunity that we have to cause the complete fall of the regime,” Cohen says in an interview with Channel 12 news. “I think that the intelligence on this exists.”
Cohen says that there is “a huge people in Iran, a smart and modern nation, which wants to charge ahead to democracy, and I think we need to put this opportunity in its hands — only if we can complete this mission and eliminate Khamenei’s regime entirely.”
Cohen says that “to the best of my knowledge,” the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites overnight “succeeded in fully stopping the Iranian nuclear project, certainly at this point.”
He accuses the Biden administration of “wasting years” not countering Iran, and thanks the Trump administration for its actions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have all said that regime change is not a part of Israel’s plans in its current operation, although they have suggested that it would be a welcome outcome.
The Times of Israel Community.