Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had thwarted Iran’s efforts to destroy it and develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran continued to pursue its goals. (EPA Images pic)DIMONA: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran was to topple its government.

"Iran wanted to destroy us; we stopped them. They wanted to produce nuclear bombs; we stopped them... Yet they persist," he said during an election rally in the southern town of Dimona. "Therefore, there is only one way to end this: by toppling this regime."

"This is the directive I have issued to the Israel Defense Forces, to the Mossad, and to all our security branches," he added, without specifying when or how that directive would be executed.