Evening Edition: Is Regime Change In Iran A Reality?
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Monday, June 16th, 2025. I'm Eben Brown. Israel and Iran are still firing at each other, but what a difference four days makes in the Middle East. Israel's essentially decapitated except for taking out the atoll himself. A lot of the senior military leadership that the ones who are either directing the battle plans, boarding the missiles to be fired. This is the Fox News Rundown Evening Edition. ♪♪

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It's been less than a week since direct hostilities ignited between Israel and Iran. Israel's government claimed Iran was too close to achieving nuclear weapons and that it needed to commence a plan to stop them since negotiations with the U.S. seemed to go nowhere after the 60 days President Trump allocated.

Since the fighting began Thursday, we've seen Israel, using both airstrikes and commandos on the ground, eliminate key leaders in Iran's government, military and domestic police forces, as well as their top nuclear scientists. And then came the destruction of government buildings, military bases, air force assets, missile stockpiles, and then the attacks on Iran's infamous nuclear development sites.

Some are rendered destroyed or inoperable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they've set back Iran's nuclear ambition for a long time, but Iran has struck some blows, firing ballistic guided missiles at Israeli population centers. They've damaged or destroyed homes, killing people inside. And perhaps it's leading to a change in goals for Israel, something beyond Iran's disarmament.

But at least things will be different in the Middle East from here on. For 45 plus years, 46 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime itself, has been the main malignant force in the Middle East. Daniel Flesch is a senior analyst with the Heritage Foundation. He's a former IDF soldier and was a senior advisor at Israel's permanent United Nations mission. We spoke with him earlier in the day.

And right now, Israel is working on ending that force, ending the regime itself, certainly by focusing on its nuclear capabilities, but also its ability to project force outside its region. Since October 7th, the Hamas-initiated massacre and invasion of Israel, which obviously was backed by Iran,

Israel has rolled back Iran's proxy network from Gaza to Lebanon to Yemen. Assad regime in Syria fell in December, so the land bridge from Iran to resupply Hezbollah in Lebanon is no longer there. This is a new Middle East, and Israel is really obviously at the forefront of that battle, which is not just a battle for Israel. It's really a battle that the United States has been engaged in, again, for 46 years, and more appropriately, perhaps, it's a battle against good and evil and really for Western civilization.

This offensive, if we'll call it that, call it a war. I mean, everyone's trying to not use the term war, but it's a war. You know, I think that's the best way to say this. It has concentrated on the regime's installations, military installations, but also its domestic installations. Iran is infamous for its brutal crackdowns of any internal dissent.

And part of these targets that Israel has been hitting has been part of that infrastructure as well. That's part of the plan, isn't it?

Certainly. So there's a number of different sites or targets that Israel's been going after. First and foremost, and most importantly, perhaps, are its nuclear sites, of which Israel has capacity, although ultimately limited capacity, to destroy those. But it's gone after the Natanz site, four of those that we hear a lot about that's buried beneath a mountain that really only the United States has the capability to reach, at least from the air.

In addition to nuclear, Israel has been going after the Iranian regime's ballistic missile capacity, its launchers and missiles, its ability to project force outside its territory. And that's where you're seeing the salvos coming from Iran over into Israel. But as you mentioned, there's other targets. There's the regime leaders themselves. Israel's essentially decapitated, except for taking out the Ayatollah himself, a lot of the senior military leadership that the ones who are either directing the battle plans, ordering the missiles to be fired, etc.,

also nuclear scientists that are intimately involved in Iran's intent to develop nuclear capabilities. And finally, we just saw actually a little bit ago, a part of its propaganda arm that Israel has been going after, not to mention other abilities such as oil depots and gas reserves that enable the regime to carry out this war, which it is a war against Israel.

The objective now is to really debilitate the regime, either to bring it back to the negotiating table or to ultimately put it in a position where it has to surrender, where it gives up its nuclear program, and maybe where the ayatollah himself chooses to step down.

The prime minister himself, Benjamin Netanyahu, has already uttered the words regime change. This is not something Israel on its own could do militarily. It's not going to occupy Iran. It's not going to happen, obviously. But this could be what encourages the Iranian people to do something after all these years of repression. What's the point in which the Iranian people feel comfortable in taking up

whatever arms they have against the regime, because they haven't for 46 years. They've tried, but it's never really been successful. But Israel's been striking at the internal secret police as well, hasn't they?

The topic of regime change is certainly on people's minds, but it's a very different kind of conversation than the ones we are perhaps familiar with from Iraq and Afghanistan. These are very different situations that the idea of changing the regime is different from Iraq 20 years ago to Iran today. And to your point, there's a lot of popular resentment and mistrust and hatred even of the regime from Iranians.

Back in 2009, even, after the U.S. elections here and President Obama came into office, there were protests against then-elections in Iran called the Green Movement, and the United States didn't do anything to support them. And we've seen more recently in the last few years popular uprisings, protests, and strikes against the Iranian regime from the Iranian people. Very clear, when we talk about this war between Israel and Iran, it's really between Israel and the regime.

the Islamic Republic of Iran. The people could have no better friend than Israel, and Israel could have no better friend than the Iranian people. But right now, to your point, they are being suppressed and oppressed by their government. So the opportunity for regime change actually is very near. It's potentially there. It's just a matter of

debilitating the regime sufficiently so they appear and they are weak and giving the Iranian people the opportunity to rise up because they do want to take the government back. So we talk about regime change. Just know it's a different conversation than we had 20 years ago. Our guest is Daniel Flesch. He's a former IDF soldier, but also a former senior advisor to Israel's permanent mission at the United Nations. He's now with the Heritage Foundation. And we are discussing the very critical

quickly moving war between Israel and Iran on the Fox News Rundown Evening Edition. Please like and subscribe and we'll have more straight ahead.

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Let's talk about the nuclear weapons, because ultimately that's what this comes down to was the preface for beginning this this war was that Iran was truly ready. And we've heard the term they're a week away from a nuclear weapon. They're a week away from a nuclear weapon.

It appears that they really were a week away from a nuclear weapon at this point, that the uranium was enriched enough to be weaponized, that they had what they needed. And as we have learned, they have medium range ballistic missiles. They have longer range ballistic missiles that could probably reach Europe.

And so I think perhaps the argument was time was of the essence. And as you've mentioned, that one installation that's so deep underground is not something the Israeli military could reach. And they would love for the Americans and their big buster bunker busters to come take care of that. But there's there's sort of an opposition to that domestically here in the United States. So if that can't happen, what can the Israelis do? You know, what what what's good enough?

Certainly. And just to be clear, Iran's been at war with the United States since 1979. This regime held Americans hostage in the embassy in Tehran for 444 days from 1979 to 1980. So this is not just Israel's fight, it's also America's fight. They were killing Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan throughout this century.

When it comes to the nuclear program, we've learned a little bit in the last few days as to why Israel conducted this operation Thursday evening. And part of the reason is, first of all, many reasons, part of it is, first of all, it's outside the 60-day window that President Trump gave the Iranians to negotiate, presumably in good faith.

And also, the Israelis learned that not only were the Iranians actively working to weaponize the nuclear capability, which means actually putting it sufficiently in a warhead and putting that in a missile to launch, but they were also also intending to give to some of their proxies. So the threat was imminent. And Israel as a sovereign nation does not need anyone to tell them if they are able to defend themselves or not. But getting to Fordow, this is a site that

that really only the US with the B-2 bombers and very large bombs essentially can reach. Israel does have Mossad agents and probably other assets on the ground that perhaps can infiltrate into there, but the only way to do it from the air is with the US capabilities.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the U.S. will provide that. They're actually sending other assets to the region right now, naval assets predominantly. But I really believe the only way to truly dismantle the regime's nuclear facilities and capabilities, aside from physically dismantling it with inspectors going in and the U.S. going in and ensuring that happens, is from the air with U.S. capabilities.

And I think that's probably where we have to leave it. Daniel Fleisch, you are a former IDF soldier and also a former senior advisor to Israel's permanent mission to the UN, now a senior analyst with the Heritage Foundation. Thank you so much for being with us on the Fox News Rundown Evening Edition. Appreciate it. Thank you.

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