Netanyahu says no guarantee of Iran regime change after war

Galit Altstein and Dan Williams, Bloomberg News on Mar 12, 2026

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TEL AVIV, Israel — The U.S.-Israeli strikes have significantly weakened Iran and its clerical leadership but cannot guarantee a regime change in the country without an internal uprising, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his first press briefing since the start of the war.

“We are creating the optimal conditions for a toppling of the regime,” the Israeli leader told reporters via a video conference, adding that forms of aid for the Iranian opposition will include airstrikes such as those carried out by the Israeli Air Force on Basij Force roadblocks and soldiers in Tehran a day earlier.

“But, again, I do not deny that I can’t tell you with certainty that the Iranian people will bring down the regime. A regime is ultimately brought down from within,” he said.

Both U.S. President Donald Trump and Mojtaba Khamenei — who succeeded his late father and previous supreme leader Ali Khamenei — struck defiant tones on Thursday, suggesting the war may not end in the near term. Khamenei said in his first statement issued since taking power that Tehran will look to open other fronts in the war if U.S. and Israel persist with their attacks.

The warning came as Israel faces a resurgence of hostilities against Hezbollah. Exchanges of fire between the two sides, which began when the militant group joined Iran’s retaliation against Israel on March 1, escalated on Wednesday, when Hezbollah fired over 200 rockets and missiles and drones at Israeli communities and towns.

Israel has already carried out attacks on over 70 targets in Beirut in the past week by air and sea after ordering residents of the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs to leave.

Netanyahu said that Iran-backed Hezbollah will pay a “heavy price” for its attacks.

“I told the Lebanese government they were playing with fire, and if they don’t take their fate into their own hands, we will do so,” he said.

When asked about claims of divergence on strategic goals between Israel and the U.S., Netanyahu said the two countries have an “unprecedented alliance.” Trump said Thursday that relationship between him and the Israeli leader is “stronger than that of all former Israeli-U.S. leaders,” Netanyahu told reporters.

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