Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said in an interview on Monday that the first of the two goals is to eliminate existential threats, such as Iran’s ballistic missiles that were quickly repaired after last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted key Iranian nuclear sites.
Chikli said these missiles “are capable of sending these missiles to the heart of our cities, to hospitals,” and that they must be destroyed.
Of Iran’s nuclear program, he added that there are “still components that need to be removed.”
A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji)
The mission’s second goal is to create conditions for regime change in Iran, Chikli said.
“We are well aware of the fact that it is not the IDF and not the US military that will replace the regime in Iran,” he said. “It is up to the Iranian people, who now have the greatest opportunity in the last forty years since the revolution began, to do something to create a different reality in Iran and regain their freedom.”
A communications tower and a state television building destroyed in an airstrike on Sunday are seen in Tehran, Iran, on Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
President Donald Trump on Saturday encouraged the Iranian people to take over his government once the US and Israel end combat operations in Iran. [their] destination.”
Dozens of top Iranian regime officials, supreme leader killed in Israeli strikes
“The hour of your freedom is near. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be falling everywhere. When we’re done, take over your government. It’s up to you to take it,” Trump said. “This will probably be your only chance in generations.”
Plumes of smoke from two simultaneous attacks rise over Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji)
Chikli discussed a situation in which Iran can be aligned with “the West, with freedom, with human dignity,” adding that “we need to make progress to bring about these kinds of changes in Iran.”
“Iran is a big state with a lot of resources, and it can be an ally,” he said. “An ally of Israel, it could be an ally of the US, it could be an ally of the UAE, it could be an ally of Kuwait and any moderate regime in the region.”
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Iran’s retaliation against the US and Israeli attacks targets Israel and US assets in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan.
Iran’s actions prompted many Arab countries to condemn the regime’s attacks and reaffirm their solidarity with each other.
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