Netanyahu has escalated again: “The end of the Iranian regime is near.” Israel is no longer defining victory as destroying missiles and nuclear sites. It is openly talking about the disappearance of the Islamic Republic itself. The question now is whether Tehran is truly approaching collapse — or entering its most dangerous phase.
Netanyahu: Tehran’s End Is Near
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his rhetoric against Tehran, declaring that “the end of the Iranian regime is near” and signaling that Israel intends to continue pressure until the Islamic Republic is removed.
Speaking Sunday at a government gathering ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Netanyahu said the fall of the regime would “change the fate of the Middle East and the Jewish people.” He also suggested that Israel’s campaign against Iran remains unfinished.
His message was accompanied by a direct warning.
Netanyahu said Iran was weak, “fighting for its life” and faltering, but warned that any renewed attack on Israel would bring retaliation on a scale Tehran could not imagine.
Israel Is Defining Victory Differently
Only days ago, Netanyahu described toppling Iran’s government as Israel’s “central mission” and said the objective was “within reach.”
Sunday’s remarks go further.
Israel is no longer publicly defining victory merely as destroying nuclear facilities, missile systems or Iranian proxy networks.
Netanyahu is increasingly defining victory as the collapse of the Islamic Republic itself.
That creates a fundamentally different war.
Military infrastructure can be destroyed from the air. Political systems collapse only when military pressure combines with economic failure, elite fragmentation and domestic opposition.
Israel can influence those conditions.
It cannot fully control them.
Iran Is Under Serious Pressure
Netanyahu’s confidence is not coming from nowhere.
Iran is facing intense economic pressure from U.S. sanctions and restrictions on its oil trade. Reuters reported Sunday that Washington’s campaign has sharply reduced Tehran’s financial room for maneuver and weakened Iran’s ability to use disruption in the Strait of Hormuz as effectively as before.
Yet Tehran is still resisting.
Iranian officials on Sunday promised stronger retaliation against further attacks and announced measures aimed at reinforcing the economy, demonstrating that the state retains both military capacity and political control despite mounting pressure.
That distinction matters.
A weakened regime is not automatically a collapsing regime.
The Most Dangerous Phase May Come Before Collapse
If Iranian leaders conclude that Israel and the United States are no longer seeking concessions but their removal from power, Tehran’s incentive to compromise could diminish.
The regime may instead conclude that survival requires escalation.
That could mean more attacks on shipping, pressure around Hormuz, operations through regional partners or strikes against Israeli and American interests.
This is the paradox of regime-change warfare:
the closer an adversary believes it is to existential defeat, the fewer reasons it may have to exercise restraint.
WARYATV Assessment
Netanyahu appears convinced that Israel has reached a historic opportunity.
Iran’s regional network has been weakened. Its economy is under severe pressure. Washington is applying military and financial force simultaneously.
From Israel’s perspective, allowing Tehran time to recover could mean fighting the same enemy again years from now.
But there remains a major uncertainty.
Destroying the Islamic Republic’s ability to threaten Israel is one objective.
Ensuring that whatever replaces it is more stable, less hostile and capable of controlling Iran’s military infrastructure is another.
Netanyahu is increasingly confident about the first.
The second remains unresolved.
WARYATV Bottom Line
Israel’s war aim has now become unmistakably ambitious.
Netanyahu does not simply want a weaker Iran. He wants the Islamic Republic gone.
His declaration that “the end is near” suggests Israel believes Tehran has entered a terminal phase.
Whether that assessment proves correct — or dangerously premature — may determine the next chapter of the Middle East.
