Mossad chief plotting new ways to topple Iranian regime, says report

The new head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad is looking at new ways to topple the Iranian government, according to reports.

Roman Gofman is said to have told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a war with Iran would lead to a swift collapse of the government, three Israeli officials told CNN earlier this year.

However, nearly four months later the government of the Islamic Republic remains in power despite weeks of conflict with the US and Israel. The Trump administration has since entered negotiations with the regime on its nuclear programme after striking an initial agreement to end the violence.

Gofman’s predecessor David Barnea also believed that regime change in Iran could be achieved before he stepped down earlier this month.

But Israeli outlet Maariv reported on Monday that Gofman views Barnea’s approach to the war as having failed. This included his plans for a Mossad-driven social media campaigns to weaken the Islamic Republic and the involvement of the Kurds to help bolster defences against Iran.

Gofman plans on transforming parts of the agency to take on new strategies to accomplish the mission, according to the Jerusalem Post.

A source told CNN that the Israeli military had been less ambitious in its goals and pushed for weakening the regime rather than overthrowing it.

Having worked as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary, Gofman took over the formidable spy agency on 2 June.

In March this year, the New York Times reported that Barnea convinced Netanyahu that a conflict could spark a rebellion in Iran. He is also reported to have floated the idea to the Trump administration while on a visit to the White House in January.

Officials told the outlet that regime change was a foundational flaw within preparations for the conflict, despite Trump’s recent claim that he “never cared about regime change” in Iran.

Gofman moved to Israel at the age of 14 and joined the Israeli military as a teenager where he spent over three decades in the Armored Corps in several positions.

He is the first outsider to be appointed to the position since 2011, with the role usually being held with someone from within the agency. His appointment triggered opposition and an application to the high court by Barnea, which failed.

In his opening speech Gofman praised the “strategic reversal” that Israel had brought about “against the Iranian axis”, adding that it had “changed the balance of power across the entire region”.

“But the task is not yet complete,” he said. “The heart of the Mossad lies in covert operations against its targets. We will safeguard that mission at all costs.”

A new poll released over the weekend showed that 92 per cent of Israelis believe that Iran has won the war.

According to the numbers by Agam Labs and Hebrew University, 82.9 per cent of Israelis believe the military campaign against Iran has weakened Israel’s long-term security and 86 per cent have a negative attitude towards the outcome of the conflict.

US-Israeli strikes on 28 February killed the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was later replaced by his eldest son Mojtaba Khamenei shortly after.