IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Sunday evening that Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran is aimed at dismantling the regime’s capabilities and removing what he described as an existential danger to Israel, as Israeli and U.S. forces continue coordinated operations across the region.

“Our goal is to strike all components of the regime – together with the US military – in order to remove an existential threat to the State of Israel,” Defrin said.

Defrin said Iran and Hezbollah have recently attempted to escalate their attacks on Israel by increasing rocket launches in response to the growing military pressure being applied by Israeli forces.

“In recent days we have seen attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to increase the firing toward Israel. This is a direct response to our military pressure,” he said. “Our objective is to damage all of the regime’s systems and capabilities, and we are doing this shoulder to shoulder alongside the US.”

According to the IDF spokesman, Israeli forces have carried out extensive strikes against Iran’s missile infrastructure, targeting hundreds of locations tied to the country’s ballistic missile program.

“More than 70 percent of the ballistic missile launchers have been taken out of service, and more than 80 percent of the air defense systems have been struck,” he said.

Defrin also indicated that the campaign is advancing more quickly than Israeli planners had originally anticipated.

“We are ahead of the original plan in the achievements of the war,” Defrin said. “We have an orderly and ongoing plan and we are deepening the damage, striking sites where Iran attempts to conceal its nuclear program. We still have thousands of targets in Iran. The regime is unstable and is hiding this from its own residents.”

He stressed that Israel’s operations are not intended to directly remove the Iranian leadership from power.

“Our objective is not to topple the regime, but rather create the conditions that will allow the Iranian people to take their country into their own hands,” he said. “We will continue to strike the Basij and the security forces and deepen our attack on them. What the Iranian people choose to do is in their own hands.”

{Matzav.com}