Leaked transcripts show Israel’s war cabinet plotted regime change in Iran, wanted U.S. to finish the job
By isabelle // 2025-09-16
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  • Israel’s leaked war cabinet transcripts reveal Netanyahu’s plan to manipulate the U.S. into attacking Iran’s nuclear site.
  • Netanyahu rejected hostage deals in Gaza, choosing famine and escalation to prolong conflict for political gain.
  • Israel targeted Iranian civilian infrastructure and sought to assassinate Supreme Leader Khamenei to collapse the regime.
  • U.S. refueling support was secured, but Trump resisted full-scale strikes, leaving Israel to provoke Iran further.
  • Netanyahu dismissed military advice, prioritizing war over diplomacy, while civilian deaths in Gaza and Iran surged.
When Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in June, a 12-day war unfolded with unprecedented speed. But newly leaked transcripts from secret cabinet meetings expose a far more disturbing reality: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government not only planned to destabilize Iran’s regime but also expected the U.S. to finish the job. The transcripts, published by Israel’s Channel 13, reveal that Netanyahu and his war cabinet saw the Iran strikes as an opportunity to force American intervention, particularly against Iran’s fortified Fordo nuclear site—a target that only U.S. bunker-buster bombs could destroy. Meanwhile, earlier leaks confirmed that Netanyahu deliberately chose famine over hostage negotiations in Gaza, rejecting military advice to secure the release of Israeli captives.

A war built on U.S. dependence

At a June 12 meeting in a Jerusalem bunker, Netanyahu framed the Iran strikes as an existential necessity. “If we don’t stop [Iran], within a few years, they will get tens of thousands of kilograms of [nuclear] explosives,” he warned. “Iran has already enriched fissile material at a level that is enough for eight to nine bombs, and they are working on the weaponization. If we don’t act, we simply won’t be here.” Yet behind closed doors, military officials admitted Israel couldn’t win alone. “Fordo will be destroyed only if the U.S. attacks it,” an unnamed senior officer stated. The underground facility, buried deep beneath a mountain, was beyond Israel’s capabilities, so Netanyahu’s strategy hinged on manipulating President Donald Trump into doing the dirty work. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer confirmed this in the transcripts, noting that Netanyahu had “pushed and maneuvered” Trump during a phone call to secure refueling planes for Israeli jets. Defense Minister Israel Katz added that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been pressured to greenlight a Fordo strike, but “in the right timing.” The gambit worked... partially. The U.S. sent refueling support, but Trump hesitated on Fordo, leaving Israel to escalate attacks in hopes of provoking an Iranian response severe enough to force American action. “If Khamenei reacts to an American strike, it could be the end of the regime,” Netanyahu mused, revealing his ultimate goal: regime collapse.

Targeting civilians, hunting Khamenei

The transcripts expose another horrifying layer: Israel’s willingness to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure to break public morale. Ministers debated striking oil refineries and power grids after evacuating neighborhoods in a tactic Defense Minister Katz called “practical and symbolic.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the military to “keep searching for the leader” in a reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom Katz later admitted Israel sought to assassinate. “The opportunity didn’t present itself,” Katz said, but the intent was clear. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir boasted of “extraordinary achievements,” including the destruction of more than 120 Iranian missile launchers. Yet even as Israel pummeled Tehran, officials warned that “the operational achievements won’t suffice”; diplomacy would be needed to lock in gains. Netanyahu dismissed this, snapping at advisors who suggested ending the war prematurely. “Stop talking about ending the war,” he scolded. “We haven’t finished, and it has to stop. It will go on for as long as we need to achieve our objectives.”

Starvation as strategy in Gaza

The Iran transcripts emerged not long after another damning leak: Netanyahu’s cabinet chose famine over hostage deals in Gaza. In a March 1 meeting, military and intelligence officials—including Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar—argued that extending the ceasefire could secure the release of Israeli captives. “The only opportunity to release the captives is to discuss the conditions of phase two,” Major General Nitzan Alon insisted. Netanyahu rejected the plea. Backed by hardliners like Smotrich and Dermer, he broke the ceasefire, unleashing a bombing campaign that killed 400 Palestinians in minutes and sealed Gaza’s borders, plunging the territory into famine. “We are not prepared to end the war while Hamas remains in power,” Dermer declared. The result? More than 160 Palestinians—including 90 children—died of starvation, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which replaced UN aid operations, became a “death trap,” with Israeli forces opening fire on civilians collecting food. More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed at aid sites since May.

Netanyahu remains defiant

Netanyahu’s interview with Channel 13, aired alongside the leaks, reveals his defiance. When asked if he prolonged the Gaza war for political survival, he dismissed the claim as “bad-natured and false,” comparing Israel’s campaign to the nine-month U.S. battle for Fallujah in 2004. “We are doing it faster than all those armies combined, under much more difficult conditions,” he boasted. Yet the transcripts tell a different story. In Gaza, Netanyahu ignored military advice to prioritize hostage releases. In Iran, he relied on U.S. firepower to achieve what Israel couldn’t. And in both cases, civilians paid the price. As Israel’s Channel 13 prepares to air its full exposé—including details on Iran’s retaliatory strike on an Israeli hospital and Netanyahu’s pressure on Trump—one question looms: How long will the U.S. enable a prime minister who treats war as a tool for political survival and American military power as his personal air force? Sources for this article include: TimesOfIsrael.com TimesOfIsrael.com Truthout.org
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