The newspaper writes about: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has referred to this matter several times, most recently before the Iranian missile attack. He then made a direct appeal to the Iranian people: He said that Israel was with them and that “the moment is coming faster than they think” when the theocrats ruling the country will fall.
According to The Times, an important goal of the Israeli retaliatory action is to weaken the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia, two organizations tasked, among other things, with suppressing mass anti-regime protests.
The newspaper also indicates that Netanyahu does not believe that they can overthrow the Iranian leadership with one attack, however Israel hopes to succeed in the long term in weakening the authorities in Tehran and encouraging internal opposition.
Finally, the Times wrote: Internal opposition in Iran is very large, as shown by participation in elections and previous mass demonstrations. Regardless, military action by a foreign country (particularly Israel) is unlikely to lead to a revolution that would sweep away the Ayatollah's authority.
Cover image source: Khamenei.ir, CCP 4.0via Wikimedia Commons
