Netanyahu says his directive to the IDF and Mossad is to "overthrow the regime in Iran"

As of 6:10 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that overthrowing Iran's government is his directive to Israel's military, the Mossad intelligence agency and the country's security services, according to a statement from his office.

"There is only one way to remove this threat once and for all: overthrow the regime in Iran. And that is my directive to the IDF, the Mossad, and the security branches," Netanyahu said at an Israel Defense Forces officer course graduation ceremony at Bahad 1, according to the statement, which his office posted on X at 11:20 a.m. ET.

"Pulled the safety pin"

"The regime in Iran has still not learned its lesson. Mojtaba Khamenei, the tyrant du jour, has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. He has pulled the safety pin, and Iran is attempting once again to develop the bombs of death," Netanyahu said, according to his office.

Mojtaba Khamenei is Iran's supreme leader. His father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his official residence at the outset of the war that Israel and the United States launched with attacks in late February, the German news agency dpa reported.

Iran has consistently denied that it seeks to build nuclear weapons, dpa noted.

Trump and "the head of the octopus"

Netanyahu said that as long as Iran seeks to destroy Israel, an existential threat remains, dpa reported. He said President Donald Trump, whom he called his "close friend," shares his view, according to dpa.

Trump recently said he is prepared to "see this through to the end" on Iran but only together with Israel, Netanyahu said, dpa reported. "And that is exactly what we will do," Netanyahu said, according to dpa.

Netanyahu also said Israel would cut off the "head of the octopus" as well as its arms, referring to Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, dpa reported.

In a Hebrew-language post on his personal X account at 11:40 a.m. ET, Netanyahu wrote that together with Trump he would complete the mission and bring down the regime in Iran.

What is not known

Netanyahu's office did not say what the directive involves in practice, what instructions were given to the IDF or the Mossad, or whether it is linked to any new military operation. Neither his office's statement nor dpa's report included a response from Iran or the White House.