Israel is preparing for a multi-week military onslaught alongside the US to fully \u201cdismantle\u201d key pillars of Iran\u2019s theocratic state and the Revolutionary Guards that protect the Islamic republic, said current and former Israeli officials.<\/p>\n
A senior Israeli military official said Israel\u2019s objective was to \u201cdismantle the regime\u2019s military infrastructure, including the IRGC\u201d as well as Iranian nuclear sites, military production facilities and space and cyber capabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re preparing for several long weeks,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
They said the \u201cthird phase\u201d of the war was under way. That followed a first phase that consisted of deadly opening strikes in Tehran on Saturday targeting the Iranian leadership, followed by a second phase of \u201c100 hours\u201d focused on destroying ballistic missile, drone and air-defence capabilities.<\/p>\n
A former senior Israeli official who is familiar with the current war plans warned that \u201cthis will take time\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009There is a lot of work to be done. Iran is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Senior US officials, including President Donald Trump, have provided a variety of explanations<\/a> of their reasons for launching the war against Iran alongside Israel, and of its ultimate goals. <\/p>\n But Israel\u2019s endgame was the \u201ctotal destruction of this regime, of the pillars of this regime, of everything that holds it together: the IRGC, the Basij [grassroots militia], its strategic capabilities\u201d, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert and senior researcher at Tel Aviv\u2019s Institute for National Security Studies.<\/p>\n Removing Iran\u2019s ability to threaten Israel \u2014 primarily via missiles and a nascent nuclear programme \u2014 was the \u201cobvious\u201d endgame, but even more important to Israel\u2019s government, Citrinowicz added, was \u201cundermining this regime [so] it has to deal with internal problems\u201d.<\/p>\n Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said one goal of the offensive is to \u201ccreate the conditions\u201d for the regime\u2019s overthrow. Israel Katz, defence minister, said on Wednesday that \u201cevery leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009will be an unequivocal target for elimination [by Israel]\u201d.<\/p>\n Analysts said it was not clear that destroying the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a 180,000-strong force, was possible. And Israeli officials have not said exactly how they plan to lay the groundwork for the regime\u2019s overthrow, or what might come after that, though they have suggested covert operations may be involved.<\/p>\n Summarising the Israeli government\u2019s position, Citrinowicz said: \u201cIf we can have a coup, great. If we can have people on the streets, great. If we can have a civil war, great. Israel couldn\u2019t care less about the future\u2009.\u2009.\u2009. [or] the stability of Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is a point of difference between us and the US. I think [Washington is] are more concerned about nation-building and threats to their regional partners,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, an Israeli air strike tore through a building in the Iranian holy city of Qom. The target was the gathering place for the Assembly of Experts, the 88-person clerical body meant to choose Iran\u2019s next supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the weekend.<\/p>\n<\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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