Netanyahu says Iran’s regime is ‘very close’ to collapse

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Iran’s Islamic Republic was close to collapse, as fighting in the six-month Middle East war intensified.

“There is still work to be done,” Netanyahu said during a visit to Israeli troops on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon near the Israel-Syria border, alongside Defence Minister Israel Katz. He said the main task was to bring down Iran’s “terror regime” and that Israel knew the “entire axis” would ultimately collapse.

Israeli forces have been stationed in southern Syria in a “security zone” since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The forces occupy what was previously a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

“We will not allow any terrorist army to establish itself on our border,” Netanyahu said.

Katz visited Israeli troops in southern Syria two weeks ago, drawing condemnation from Damascus, which described the deployment as a “flagrant violation” of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since Assad’s fall and made repeated incursions into Syrian territory. Israeli officials have also repeatedly said troops will remain in the security zone, where Israel is seeking a broader demilitarised area.

Netanyahu’s remarks on Iran came as Tehran and Washington remained locked in a stalemate over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The two sides have exchanged attacks over the past week, six months into the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran at the end of February.