Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, asserted on Wednesday that Israel's military operations last month, a 12-day engagement, were meticulously designed to debilitate the Islamic Republic's foundational structure and incite widespread civil unrest aimed at its collapse.
"The calculation and plan of the aggressors was to weaken the system by targeting certain figures and sensitive centers in Iran," Khamenei stated during a gathering with judiciary officials, as quoted by AFP.
Excerpts from the meeting, released via videos on his official website, further elaborated on the alleged Israeli intent: to stir "unrest and bring people into the streets to overthrow the system."
The period in question saw an intense Israeli aerial campaign against Iran, initiated on June 13, which resulted in the deaths of senior Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists.
During the conflict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed to Fox News on June 15 that Israeli strikes "certainly could" instigate a shift in the Iranian political landscape, though he never stated that this was Israel’s goal. "The Iranian regime is very weak," Netanyahu remarked in the interview.
Adding another dimension to the regional tensions, the United States commenced its own strikes on June 22 against Iranian nuclear facilities located at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz.
Iran swiftly countered these American strikes with missile barrages targeting the US Al-Udaid airbase in Qatar. Khamenei characterized this Iranian response on Wednesday as a "big blow" to the United States, issuing a stern warning that "even greater strikes can be dealt to the US and others."
However, US President Donald Trump said at the time that the Iranian government offered "early notice" about the strikes and said the Iranian retaliation for the US strikes was "very weak."