Netanyahu promised to overthrow the "Iran regime" in national security doctrine.

Faruk Hanedar October 18, 2026 • Update: October 18, 2026 The Israeli Prime Minister's Office released footage of a briefing where Netanyahu met with Israeli journalists at his office in West Jerusalem and announced a security doctrine after a ten-year hiatus. According to a report by The Times of Israel newspaper, Netanyahu, who described the elections to be of "existential importance" in the country to be held next week, promised to "fulfill war objectives." The briefing, which lasted about two hours and revealed Netanyahu's "aggressive security doctrine," was boycotted by many media outlets in Israel. "Our Plan (in Iran) is to cause the collapse of the regime." Describing "preventive attacks" as the basic principle of the new national security doctrine, Netanyahu argued that the "nuclear ambitions" of Iran were among the greatest threats to Israel and that the "overthrow of the Iranian regime" remained the fundamental strategic objective. Pointing out that the "deterioration of the economy" of Iran was increasing public pressure and that new protests could begin, Netanyahu stated, "Our Plan is a very comprehensive and determined plan to cause the collapse of the regime. This is what I have instructed all security agencies to do." In response to the question of whether to attack Iran without the support of the United States, Netanyahu asserted that they are "not dependent on the US" and replied, "We will act independently to the extent necessary. We have done this before, and we will do it again if necessary." Downplayed Attacks in the West Bank Netanyahu, who spoke about Israel's attacks on Palestinians, Israeli and foreign activists, journalists, and even diplomats in the occupied West Bank, which the Israelis have been committing to Palestinians, dismissed the attacks by Israelis and foreigners from Israel as "rebels." Netanyahu downplayed the attacks in the West Bank, where the Palestinians are under occupation, by claiming that the extent of the attention and condemnation shown by the international public was exaggerated. Regarding Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister, who reiterated the claim that if Hamas is not disarmed, the region will not allow its reconstruction, repeated the threat of attack by stating that if Hamas is not disarmed, Lebanon should disarm Hezbollah under the management of Beirut, or "they will do the job themselves" in Gaza and Lebanon. Relations with the United States Netanyahu stated that he has limited time until the end of President Donald Trump's term, saying, "In two years, a president who will adopt an extremely hostile stance towards Israel in Washington may come to power. We must do everything in our power during these two years and work to establish many alliances in our region and beyond." Netanyahu alleged that India and Latin American countries are potential partners for Israel, and claimed that the governments of Arab and European countries are attempting to draw closer, alleging that they have discussed with Israel for the supply of weapons and defense industry. Netanyahu stated that Israel will increase domestic arms production, including military underground facilities, with a total security investment of approximately 145 billion dollars. Denying allegations of seeking a united government for the elections, Netanyahu said that he wants a "broad-based government" instead.