Netanyahu Hopes Strikes on Iran Will Lead to Uprising and Regime Change

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Israeli attacks have targeted the command centers of Iran’s repressive, internal security forces in hopes that Iranians will overthrow their rulers. Some see that as wishful thinking.

Israeli attacks on Iran have been targeting the country’s internal security services as part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy to destabilize the authoritarian government and create the conditions for a popular uprising.

Israel has already killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and announced on Tuesday that it killed the country’s top security official, Ali Larijani. Beyond that, the Israeli military has been heavily bombing the security forces that have quashed wave after wave of anti-government protests in Iran.

Some former Israeli military officials dismissed Mr. Netanyahu’s strategy as unrealistic, arguing that Iran’s internal security services are too deeply entrenched and powerful. Other experts, however, argue that Israel should try to bring about a change in leadership, while acknowledging that airstrikes alone will not be enough without a popular uprising.

Mr. Netanyahu has said that Israel’s air campaign has delivered “crushing blows” to Iran’s security apparatus and will create “optimal” conditions for Iranians to oust their government.

“I’m telling the Iranian people,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a news conference last week. “The moment you can come out for freedom is getting closer. We are standing beside you and helping you. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you.” » | Adam Rasgon, Ronen Bergman and David M. Halbfinger | Adam Rasgon and David M. Halbfinger reported from Jerusalem and Ronen Bergman reported from Tel Aviv. | Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Yanis Varoufakis: Iran War Collapses US Neoliberal Economy

Mar 14, 2026 | Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, the former Finance Minister of Greece, and the author of numerous bestselling books. Yanis Varoufakis discusses the historical mistake of attacking Iran (again).

A War for One Man

Screenshot of Benjamin Netanyahu taken from this guest essay. | Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
THE NEW YORK TIMES — OPINION: Benjamin Netanyahu has spent much of his political life trying to make war with Iran seem not only inevitable but overdue. Thus, for the Israeli prime minister, the latest conflict was a victory the moment it began. Not because every consequence is good for Israel, but because he can sell almost every conceivable result as proof that he was right all along: that Iran had to be confronted, that force was unavoidable and that delay would only have made the threat more treacherous.

Mr. Netanyahu does not need a clean victory — he just needs a durable narrative. This is not just about distracting Israeli voters when they head to the polls this year. This is also about cementing an Israeli national security doctrine that always trumps diplomacy. He needs Israelis talking about Tehran rather than Oct. 7, about existential enemies rather than political accountability or the unresolved disaster in Gaza — where, after nearly two and a half years of indiscriminate destruction, Hamas still remains — or the crisis in Lebanon, where the renewed conflict with Hezbollah shows no signs of waning.

A war with Iran does not erase those failures, but it does slide them into the background. It also moves the political conversation back onto emotional and political terrain where Mr. Netanyahu has always felt strongest: using fear with the claim that only he truly grasps the scale of the threat to Israel from Iran, and the (empty) promise that he can remove it through force.

For all these reasons, any day-after scenario is a win for Mr. Netanyahu. If Iran capitulates under military pressure, he can say that force succeeded where diplomacy failed. If Iran refuses but emerges militarily weaker, he can say that Israel bought time by degrading the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities. If the Iranian government survives but is bloodied, isolated and more consumed by internal tensions, he can claim that he has neutered an implacable foe. A prolonged period of chaos and bloodshed in Iran could be cast in Jerusalem not as a tragedy that might have been prevented but as a problem to be managed from afar. Even a hardened Iranian regime can work into the narrative that the country must continue to be confronted. » | A New York Times GUEST ESSAY by Mairav Zonszein | Ms. Zonszein is a contributing writer at Opinion. | Friday, March 13, 2026

Economist Jeffrey Sachs: US-Israeli "War of Choice," Assault on UN Charter Could Lead to WWIII

Mar 14, 2026 | The global economy has been rocked by the war in the Middle East, with Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatening energy flows and sending the price of oil soaring to its highest level in years. The United Nations Security Council responded to the unprovoked US-Israeli war by passing a resolution this week condemning Iran — specifically for its attacks on US allies in the region — while ignoring the role of the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government in instigating the bloodshed. Economist Jeffrey Sachs joins Democracy Now! to discuss the fallout of the "war of choice" and why it also constitutes an assault on the United Nations.

"This is so out of control, without any logic, any rationality, not any humane, moral, legal justification whatsoever," says Sachs. "It will lead to world war the way we're going, because we have two malignant narcissists, Netanyahu and Trump, that are leading us to disaster."


Democracy Now! can be supported here.

“Trump Is the Useful Idiot.”

Chris Hedges explains.

Chris Hedges on the U.S.–Israel War on Iran: “Iranians Will Decide the Outcome”

Mar 12, 2026 | Interview with Chris Hedges on the U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran and the widening Middle East war.

This War Could Destroy the US | Col Douglas Macgregor

March 11, 2026

Why America Is Losing the War with Iran (w/ John Mearsheimer) | The Chris Hedges Report

March 12, 2026

Elect a know-nothing fool, expect geopolitical chaos! – © Mark Alexander

Democracy Now! Ret. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Netanyahu Could Turn to Nuclear Bombs If Iran War Escalates

Mar 10, 2026 | As President Trump gives conflicting statements about the length and objectives of the war he launched with Israel against Iran, fears are growing that the conflict could continue to expand throughout the region and beyond. Lawrence Wilkerson, retired U.S. Army colonel and former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, says the U.S. and Israel are committing wanton "war crimes" in Iran. "We have bombed civilians relentlessly. We have bombed a school. We have bombed a hospital," says Wilkerson, who also suggests Western media outlets are downplaying the extent of the damage in Israel and how successful Iran has been in defending itself.

"This is a war with long legs. Trump has completely misinterpreted it," says Wilkerson. "The only one who's interpreted it correctly is Bibi Netanyahu, and I think he's ready to use a nuclear weapon, should it become as bad as it looks like it might right now, because Iran has not even began to shoot its most sophisticated missiles."


Democracy Now! can be supported here.

What Do USA & Israel Truly Want in Iran? : Societal Collapse

Mar 6, 2026 | The US and Israel are bombing schools and hospitals in Iran. This is not an accident. War Secretary Pete Hegseth admitted they want to unleash as much "death and destruction" as possible. Their goal is total collapse of Iran's state and society. Ben Norton explains.

Michael Lawson: What They Are Not Telling You: Why the US and Israel Can't Win This War

Mar 7, 2026 | As the war in the Middle East enters its second week, the official narrative is cracking. While the media focuses on the strikes in Tehran, a much more dangerous reality is unfolding for the Gulf States and Israel.

In this video, Michael Lambert breaks down as follows:

The Trump-Netanyahu Alliance: How the "Unconditional Surrender" demand is trapping the US in another "Forever War" like Vietnam and Afghanistan.

The Economic Math of Failure: Why Israel and the UAE are losing the financial war by using million-dollar interceptors to stop "disposable" £20,000 Iranian drones.

The Desalination Death-Blow: How a single strike on water infrastructure could force the evacuation of cities like Dubai and Riyadh within 48 hours.

The Global Shadow War: Why Russia and China are quietly backing Iran while Trump is forced to ask Ukraine for drone-warfare secrets.

Media Dishonesty: Why the BBC and Western outlets are ignoring the catastrophic impact this conflict is having on the "Saltwater Kingdoms" of the Gulf.

Prof Jeffrey Sachs Rips into Netanyahu and Zionism

He explains everything here.

‘Deep Dark Son of a B**ch’: Jeffrey Sachs Loses Cool at Netanyahu's Iran War | US News

Mar 4, 2026 | American economist Jeffrey Sachs launches a fierce critique of U.S. foreign policy, accusing Washington and President Donald Trump of misleading the public over wars in the Middle East, including Iran. He questions whether American democracy truly functions on life-and-death decisions, claims wars were sold through narratives and focus groups, and argues interventions from Iraq to Syria were based on phony pretences. Sachs also criticises regime change operations, CIA secrecy, and what he calls a “game” of power politics. He warns America’s greatest risks come from within, not from China.

Prof. Glenn Diesen : Trump’s War and Europe’s Strategic Anxiety

March 5, 2026

How Did President Trump Decide to Go to War?

Mar 3, 2026 | President Trump’s embrace of military action in Iran was set off by the determination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to end diplomatic negotiations. Mark Mazzetti, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, describes how few of Mr. Trump’s advisers voiced opposition. | By Mark Mazzetti, Leila Medina, Sutton Raphael, Joey Sendaydiego, Jon Hazell and Rafaela Balster
This NYT video explains how it happened.
Read the NYT article here.

IHIP News: 🚨 US Troops Report Trump Regime's Religious Threats of 'Armageddon' in Iran?

Mar 4, 2026 | American troops are reporting that Hegseth and Trump are pushing a Christian nationalist doomsday prophecy in war with Iran.

Very strong language alert!

Jeffrey Sachs: 'Psychopath' Trump Makes Bibi's Fantasy Come True

Mar 2, 2026 | Krystal and Saagar are joined by Jeff Sachs to discuss Israel, the US, and Iran war.

Iran Tells US Not to Let Netanyahu Thwart Nuclear Talks before Trump Meeting

THE GUARDIAN: Tehran’s intervention comes as the Israeli prime minister heads to a hastily arranged White House encounter

Tehran has told the US not to allow Israel to destroy the chance of reaching an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme amid speculation that Benjamin Netanyahu intends to use a hastily arranged White House meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday to divert negotiations.

Iran’s intervention came as the Israeli prime minister flew to Washington to plead with Trump not to negotiate a deal with Tehran if it excludes limiting the country’s ballistic missile programme, dropping its support for proxy forces in the region and curtailing human rights abuses at home.

Netanyahu is deeply concerned that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, are prepared to strike a deal confined to limiting the scope of Iran’s nuclear programme, which in Israel’s view would do nothing to rein in the long-term threat Tehran poses to the region.

Speaking before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu said he would “present to the president our approach around our principles on the negotiations”. He is expected to provide Trump with fresh intelligence about Iran’s military capabilities, including new long-range ballistic missiles. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Tuesday. February 10, 2026

'Stay Out of Our Politics' - Ex-Aussie PM

Malcolm Turnbull explains why he says what he says.

What Trump's Middle East "Peace" Really Means | A Conversation with ‪Katie Couric‬

Oct 16, 2025 | While Trump is being hailed as a peacekeeper, the situation in Gaza is far from settled. Steve Schmidt sits down with ‪Katie Couric‬ to discuss the recent ceasefire and why Trump's relationship with Netanyahu is as corrupt as it gets.