Gadi Eisenkot rejects regime change as Iran war aim, pledging to target nuclear and missile programs instead

Israeli opposition leader and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said Israel should focus on destroying Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and regional proxy capabilities rather than making the overthrow of Tehran’s government an objective of war.

“Making regime change an objective of war is not the right thing to do,” Eisenkot said in an interview with i24NEWS. “Destroying the Iranian nuclear program, the missile program, and the proxies — that is the right thing to do. And I know how to do that.”

Eisenkot, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leading challengers ahead of Tuesday’s election, also called Netanyahu “delusional” over his portrayal of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and said the prime minister knew Iran had not possessed nuclear weapons. Available assessments before Israel’s wars with Iran did not establish that Tehran had assembled a nuclear weapon, although the IAEA had documented a large stockpile of highly enriched uranium and unresolved safeguards concerns.

On Gaza, Eisenkot pledged that if elected he would either destroy Hamas or dismantle its military and governing capabilities within 18 months. He argued that his previous military experience showed he could deliver on that commitment, while distinguishing the objective from eliminating the broader Muslim Brotherhood ideology.

Eisenkot has also pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu. Speaking separately after Trump announced his support, Eisenkot said he greatly appreciated the president’s contribution to Israel’s security but insisted that “only the citizens of Israel” would determine the country’s prime minister, government and coalition.

The former military chief supports continued pressure on Iran and military action against its nuclear and missile capabilities, but has drawn a distinction between degrading those threats and using war to impose political change inside Iran.