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Mossad Director David Barnea declared Tuesday that Israel's intelligence agency planned from the outset for its campaign against Iran to continue beyond the strikes on Tehran.
He stated that the mission would be fulfilled "only when this extremist regime is replaced," responding directly to allegations that he had misled U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by suggesting the Iranian government would fall quickly once military strikes began.
Barnea spoke at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Mossad headquarters, addressing allegations that he had given Trump and Netanyahu false expectations about the speed of regime collapse.
"Forty days of intense fighting brought the most significant achievements, foremost of which was the blow dealt to the enemy's central goal, the destruction of the State of Israel. But our mission has yet to be completed," Barnea said.
"We did not think the mission would be completed immediately after the fighting subsided, but we certainly planned for our campaign to continue and to be expressed also in the period following the strikes in Tehran," he noted.
"Our commitment will be fulfilled only when this extremist regime is replaced," Barnea added.
Barnea claimed that Mossad had played a secondary but important role in what he described as an unprecedented strike that dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian regime.
"The Israeli army led, Mossad assisted in an unprecedented attack that inflicted a severe blow on the Iranian regime," he said.
On Mossad's specific role, Barnea said, "Mossad operated once again in the heart of Tehran. We brought precise intelligence to the Air Force, and we hit missiles that threatened the citizens of Israel."
Haredi Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri had told Israel Hayom newspaper that Mossad's plan for regime change in Iran had failed and that Barnea had misled Trump and Netanyahu. Barnea's remarks were a direct rebuttal to those allegations, with the Mossad chief framing the continuation of the campaign as something that was always planned rather than a fallback position.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Barnea also referred to the two wars against Iran in the past year as "wars of necessity," and said he had "warned again and again about the nuclear danger as an existential threat, and warned again and again about the quantities of ballistic missiles threatening Israeli citizens."
He added, "The Iranian threat has steadily intensified before our eyes, and before the eyes of the world, almost unchecked."
Barnea is scheduled to step down in June, making Tuesday's appearance among his last public statements as Mossad director.
He is one of the last senior defense officials still in post since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
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