Jerusalem: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that his country is “crushing the regime in Iran with great vigour” while asserting that the Israeli offensive against Tehran is not against its people.
“I tell you constantly that we are crushing the terrorist regime in Iran. But we are doing so with even greater vigour, and with increasing force,” Netanyahu said as the world waited with bated breath for the approaching deadline issued by US President Donald Trump.
“Yesterday, our pilots destroyed transport planes and dozens of helicopters at an Iranian Air Force base. Today, they attacked the train tracks and bridges used by the Revolutionary Guards. They use these to transport raw materials for weapons, the weapons themselves, and the operatives who attack us, the US, and the countries of the region, the same operatives who also oppress the Iranian people,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) through its Persian social media handle, warned Iranians to avoid using trains claiming it would attack the infrastructure to prevent the Iranian regime from transporting weapons.
Netanyahu, who has consistently claimed that the US and Israeli offensive against Iran will pave the way for them to dislodge their regime, again emphasised that his country’s attacks were not directed towards the people of Iran.
“And this is the central point: These actions, which I approved together with the minister of defence, are not intended to attack the Iranian people,” he said.
“On the contrary, they are intended to weaken and crush the terrorist regime that has oppressed them for 47 years,” the Israeli prime minister added.
Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz is set to expire later.
In a stern warning, the US President has said that “an entire civilization will die tonight, and will never return” warning of taking down Iranian key infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened before the expiry of his declared deadline.
Iran has meanwhile called upon its youth, including “athletes, artists and students” to form a “human chain” around power plants to protect them from US and Israeli attacks.
Netanyahu re-iterated that Israel has become stronger and more secure during the ongoing war that started following Hamas’ deadly attacks on its territory on October 7, 2023.
“This is no longer the same Iran, nor is it the same Israel. We are changing the balance of power from one end to the other,” Netanyahu said.
