Netanyahu says regime change in Iran is very close during visit to Mount Hermon

"The main goal is to overthrow the terrorist regime in Iran. We are very close to that," Netanyahu said in a video recording.

Accompanying him on the trip was right-wing politician and Defence Minister Israel Katz:

We are sending a strong message to the president of Syria, who is sitting 35 kilometres away in his palace in Damascus. We are here on Mount Hermon, in a safe zone, and we are not moving.

Syria's Foreign Ministry responded sharply to the incursion into Syrian territory, which "was provocative and a gross violation of sovereignty."

Israel has maintained a military presence in the so-called safe zone since Syria's former dictator was overthrown in 2024, an area previously guarded by UN forces.