Benjamin Netanyahu has the “bit between his teeth” and is seeing now as possibly the best chance to topple the Iranian regime, a security expert has said. Professor Anthony Glees, from the University of Buckingham, said the latest flare-up between Israel and Iran is “much more dangerous” than previous escalations, warning a larger conflict cannot be ruled out.
Speaking to the Express, he said the Israeli Prime Minister has been encouraged by the Donald Trump administration appearing weak in foreign policy, describing it as “a case of the tail wagging the dog”. Professor Glees said: “Netanyahu has got the bit between his teeth now and has worked out for 1,001 reasons, some internal, some external, that if Israel’s going to have a go at Iran and attempt to destroy its nuclear programme and possibly destroy the Islamic Republic, now is the right time. Trump is not at all powerful; he’s not 10-feet tall, he’s not had any success in stopping Netanyahu in Gaza, he’s not had any success in stopping Putin in Ukraine.”
Israel claimed to have struck more than 100 targets across Iran after it launched a series of strikes in the early hours of Friday morning.
Iran vowed to retaliate and fired around 100 drones at Israel, with leaders across the world, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, calling for de-escalation amid fears of a wider regional conflict.
Professor Glees said while this is unlikely — albeit it not impossible — he believes we are now seeing the start of the Israeli PM’s end game.
“The opportunity to redraw this map of the Middle East, to vastly extend Israel’s power over the entire region, Netanyahu feels that is an opportunity, a once in a 100 years opportunity and that he should take it.
“And of course, it makes domestic sense too.”
Israel said its attacks targeted the “heart” of Iran’s nuclear programme, as well as ballistic missile facilities and senior military leaders.
It described the strikes as “pre-emptive” and justified them by saying they were stopping Tehran from building atomic bombs.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel is in a “decisive moment” in its history and the strikes had been launched to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival”.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” he said.
Top Iranian generals, including the Commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, were killed in the first wave of the Israeli air strikes.
“[Israel] wanted to cut off Iran’s head before dealing with its arms and legs,” said Professor Glees, who claimed Mr Netanyahu thinks he is “at the height of his powers”.
However, in a reference to Israeli operational codename ‘Rising Lion’, he warned: “Lions can rise but they can also fall, and fall pretty quickly.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel will face “severe punishment” for the attacks, with Tehran saying civilians, including children, were killed.
An Israeli military official said many of the 100 drones Iran later fired at Israel in retaliation were shot down.
Israeli security officials say the country’s Mossad spy agency smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of the strikes, using them to target Iranian defences from within.
