Former Mossad Chief Dadi Barnea: “There Is No Alternative but to Escalate Action Against Iran’s Regime, and It Will Fall”

Former Mossad chief Dadi Barnea called Thursday evening for intensifying pressure on Iran’s regime until it falls, making clear that the economic sanctions imposed by the United States are an important step, but not the end of the campaign. He made the remarks at an appreciation ceremony held in his honor during a Jerusalem City Council meeting.

“President Trump understands very well that the extremist Iranian regime must not be allowed to remain in place. The decision to impose the harshest sanctions on Iran is the right and welcome decision, but the sanctions are only another step,” Barnea said. In his view, the measures against Tehran will need to expand into other areas as well: “In my assessment, there will be no alternative but to escalate the economic, diplomatic, and operational actions against this regime until it falls, and it will fall.”

Barnea argued that the desire for change in Iran is not limited to Israel and the United States, and that Iran’s own citizens are also hoping for the regime’s downfall: “They need it to see a glimmer of light. The enlightened Western world wants it as well, led by the United States and Israel, more determined than ever.”

The former Mossad chief later addressed what he described as a shift in how the Iranian threat has been viewed globally since the most recent campaign against Iran: “Until the ‘Roar of the Lion’ war, we felt that Iran was a problem for the State of Israel, that only we would act and make sacrifices to confront the threat. Today, it is clear to the entire world that the Iranian issue is not our problem alone. The world is beginning to understand that if the problem is not resolved, it will reach everyone and every place, whether through ballistic missiles, terrorism, or the development of nuclear weapons of mass destruction.”

Alongside his comments on Iran, Barnea also addressed Israel’s current situation following the upheavals it has endured since October 7. Despite the challenges and threats on multiple fronts, he said, the country’s strategic standing has improved significantly: “The State of Israel has gone through, and continues to go through, intense upheavals. But when we look at reality with open and honest eyes, it is important to say this clearly: The strategic position of the State of Israel today is immeasurably better than it was on the eve of the terrible October 7 massacre. We changed the equation.”

The former Mossad chief also devoted part of his remarks to Israel’s internal situation, emphasizing that the country’s security achievements depend greatly on social cohesion: “Our national resilience, the ability of the Mossad and the IDF to win on the battlefields, rests on one thing alone: our cohesion as a society. We must embrace tolerance, know how to listen to and respect those who are different and those among us who are other. Diversity is our strength, not our weakness.”