Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that his country will continue its military campaign against Iran until all nuclear capabilities and missile systems are dismantled, describing the conflict as a fight for national survival.
Speaking publicly for the first time since launching Operation Rising Lion, Netanyahu stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran poses a threat not only to Israel but to the global community. He emphasized that the ongoing military operation would persist until Iran can no longer develop nuclear weapons or maintain strategic missile infrastructure.
The Israeli Defense Forces have confirmed a sustained campaign of targeted airstrikes on Iranian territory, marking the fourth day of what some analysts are now calling the most dangerous escalation in the region in years. Israel claims to have neutralized more than 90 locations believed to be part of Iran’s military command structure, with strikes reported near Tehran, Esfahan, and along the Persian Gulf coast. Iran, in response, has fired hundreds of missiles and drones toward Israeli territory since Friday.
Casualties are mounting. Iranian sources report more than 200 fatalities, though independent verification remains limited due to restricted media access. Satellite imagery has shown visible destruction at several sites long suspected to be tied to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Despite the scale of the campaign, critics argue that Israel’s stated goals may mask deeper strategic intentions. Mohammad Marandi, a senior Iranian analyst and advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team, contends that Tel Aviv is using the nuclear narrative as a pretext for broader aggression. He pointed to recent U.S. intelligence assessments that continue to confirm Iran is not actively pursuing a nuclear bomb.
Marandi accused Netanyahu of leveraging the conflict to escalate tensions and disrupt any chance of renewed diplomacy between Tehran and Washington. “This is not about nuclear weapons. It’s about destabilizing Iran and preserving geopolitical dominance,” he told RT.
Other regional analysts echoed this concern. Syrian expert Taleb Ibrahim suggested the West, particularly the U.S., is using the Iran-Israel conflict to shift the global balance of power. Ibrahim argued that a weakened Iran would sever China’s access to Middle Eastern energy routes and push back Russian influence in the region, effectively clearing the path for a restored American-led global order.
The situation has raised alarm among global powers. While former U.S. President Donald Trump has distanced himself from the Israeli operation, some observers believe Washington is quietly supporting Israel’s campaign as part of a wider geopolitical strategy.
Analysts warn that if Tehran’s government collapses, it could plunge the region into prolonged chaos. Iran’s ethnically diverse population and regional alliances—with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shia militias in Iraq—mean that any instability in Tehran could trigger widespread violence. Already volatile oil markets could spiral further, threatening global economic stability.
Still, Iranian officials remain defiant. According to Marandi, the unity of the Iranian population in resisting what they view as foreign aggression will make any attempts at forced regime change impossible.
“This is not just a war for Iran. It’s a struggle over the future structure of international power,” Ibrahim concluded. “If Iran withstands this assault, the world will move closer to a multipolar era. If it falls, the American empire will stretch from Washington to the Middle East and beyond.”
As missiles continue to fly and both rhetoric and risk escalate, the battle between Israel and Iran may ultimately redefine the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century.
