Israel's dashed ambitions to topple the Iranian regime

An anti-American billboard and the 'We Must Rise' statue on Enghelab Square, in central Tehran, on August 3, 2026. ATTA KENARE/AFP The Israeli security establishment is bitter. The war it waged alongside the US military to overthrow the Iranian regime, launched six months ago on February 28 , has failed. "The regime survived the only credible threat that was hanging over its head for decades. We lost that card, and the Iranians are more confident than ever," said Avner Vilan, a former Israeli intelligence official and Iran specialist. The nuclear threat remains. In the United States, both Democrats and Republicans blame Israel for dragging President Donald Trump into this venture, which now calls Washington's long-term support into question. Israeli public opinion views the war very negatively, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who planned and initiated it, has still refused to take stock, even as the US steps up economic pressure on the regime in Tehran and threatens to resume airstrikes. Two of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad's most senior officials have already paid the price for their failure: the heads of its Iran desk and intelligence division, who planned the operation, were dismissed in August – an unprecedented move that caused turmoil inside the agency. The Israeli army, meanwhile, has leaked information repeatedly, insisting it had opposed the attempt to topple the regime. "The military blames Mossad for dragging us all into these fantasies of regime change," said Raz Zimmt, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. You have 83.72% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.