Mearsheimer: Israel's goal is to dismantle Iran and must have a nuclear weapon

John Mearsheimer, a prominent international relations thinker and American political science professor, said that statements by Israeli officials regarding "regime change" in Iran indicate that the real goal goes beyond political change, but rather aims to divide and fragment Iran.

"I think if you go back to the founding of Israel, the Israelis had a clear interest in destroying all of their Arab neighbors," Mearsheimer said. "What has happened in Syria over the last year and a half is the model the Israelis wish to apply to Iran. They want to tear their neighbors apart and, if possible, break them up."

"When the Israelis talk about regime change in Iran, they are actually talking about something bigger than just political change. They seek to turn Iran into smaller, scattered entities," he said.

The political scientist added: "For example, the Israelis are very interested in the creation of a Kurdish state. I have always wondered why this interest, and the answer is clear: If a Kurdish state is created, Iraq, Iran, Syria and even Turkey will be divided, and this has been Israel's goal for a long time."

"The Israelis want to be the most powerful state in the region. But they believe this can be achieved not only through an alliance with the United States, but also through their exclusive possession of nuclear weapons, their conventional military superiority, as well as weakening their rivals or making them completely dependent on Washington, as is the case with Egypt and Jordan."

"Egypt and Jordan no longer have any real attitude toward Israel, because they are economically dependent on the United States, and if either of them challenges Israel, America will impose economic sanctions on them," Mearsheimer added. This is the approach to these countries," Mearsheimer added.

He noted that the goal of Israeli policy towards countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran is to "dismantle these countries, remove them from the regional equation, and weaken them completely."

He emphasized that "the word regime change here actually means the dismemberment of states, and if we look closely, we will discover that what Israel is seeking is not just the toppling of a government, but the complete dismantling of existing political entities."

Commenting on Iran's internal unity, Mearsheimer said: "All the evidence indicates that the Iranian people have rallied around their leadership. "There is a recurring pattern in history: the more a country is attacked for regime change, the more its people unite behind the national flag.

"There is not a single example in history where aerial bombing alone has led to regime change. It is counterproductive and strengthens internal cohesion."

"The belief that Israeli airstrikes will lead to regime change in Iran is not realistic. What we have seen over the past 12 days clearly shows that the regime in Iran is not about to fall. On the contrary, it is in a stronger position today than it was on June 12, before the confrontations began."

"The big question now is: What will happen if the regime actually changes? Do Israelis expect that the new regime will abandon nuclear ambitions and will not cause any trouble for Israel or America? This is unrealistic," he said.

"It makes perfect sense for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. "I have said publicly many times that if I had been Iran's national security advisor, Iran would have a nuclear weapon today.

"The lessons of the last 12 days confirm that Iran made a mistake by not going nuclear. The bottom line is now: If it wants to be protected from Israeli and American attacks, it has to have this weapon."