By Gloria Ogbonna
During a Tuesday appearance on NewsNation’s The Hill, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Leiter, offered a forceful explanation of Israel’s ongoing military objectives in Iran, stating that the ultimate aim is to dismantle what he described as a “terrorist edifice” operating out of Tehran.
Leiter emphasized that the joint campaign currently underway remains active and focused, with what he called a clear and unwavering objective: victory.
According to the ambassador, Israel’s strategy centers on systematically breaking down the infrastructure of power in Tehran that he claims is responsible for supporting terrorism, advancing nuclear ambitions, and developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities.
“Our joint campaign continues unabated,” Leiter said. “The objective is victory. The objective is to take apart this terrorist edifice that exists in Tehran.”
He pointed to what he described as significant operational successes, noting that Israeli forces had struck four major command centers in central Tehran.
These strikes, he explained, are designed to disrupt the regime’s internal command structure and hinder its ability to coordinate military and security operations across the region.
By targeting high-level command hubs, Leiter argued, Israel is creating fractures within Iran’s chain of command, making it increasingly difficult for directives to flow from the capital to forces in the field.
“They’re finding it very difficult to get orders from Tehran out to the field,” he said, portraying the campaign as one that is steadily weakening centralized control.
Beyond the command centers, Leiter said the next phase involves pursuing the remainder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and associated security forces.
The broader goal, he suggested, is to fully dismantle the governing structure that he believes poses a threat not only to Israel but to global stability.
“Now, we’ve got to pursue the rest of the IRGC and the other security forces to fully break down this edifice and cause it to collapse,” he stated.
In one of his most striking remarks, Leiter used the phrase “regime collapse” to describe the intended outcome. He clarified that Israel seeks a situation in which there would no longer be a government in Tehran capable of pursuing nuclear weapons or deploying ballistic missiles that could strike civilian populations.
“The plan is regime collapse,” he said, adding that the objective is to prevent any leadership in Tehran from continuing policies that he characterized as malign and destabilizing.
However, Leiter was careful to draw a distinction between “regime collapse” and “regime change,” saying that Israel does not see it as its role to dictate who governs Iran in the future.
He insisted that once the perceived military and nuclear threats are neutralized, the responsibility for determining the country’s leadership should fall to the Iranian people themselves.
“When people talk about regime change, that’s not our business,” Leiter said. “Our business here is to prevent any government in Tehran from being a malign entity, from being able to shoot ballistic missiles and achieve nuclear weapons. Once we achieve that, we’re going to leave it to the people of Iran to choose their next government.”
His comments come amid heightened tensions in the region, as Israel continues to frame its operations as defensive measures aimed at curbing Iran’s strategic capabilities and influence.
Source Breitbart