Netanyahu adviser urges voters to pick leader who can end Iran's rule

Ophir Falk, the foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urged Israeli voters on Monday to select the leader best suited to coordinate with the United States in removing Iran's current government. In written remarks released ahead of the Tuesday vote, Falk asserted that the removal of what he called the genocidal Ayatollah regime serves the interests of America, Israel, and the wider world.

Falk specifically identified the partnership between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump as the optimal mechanism for this task. He stated that the team has demonstrated the necessary capability to execute such a strategic shift. For Falk, the election represents a choice about who will manage this bilateral relationship during the final two years of Trump's presidency.

The adviser framed the contest as a direct clash between the preferences of the two allied governments and those of their adversaries. Falk noted that while Trump desires to continue working with Netanyahu, groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran itself favor a different outcome for the prime minister. He described the current strategic balance as one where the US-Israeli alliance stands at its peak strength while Iran and its proxies remain at their lowest point.

President Trump reinforced this message on Sunday evening through a post on Truth Social. The president renewed his endorsement of Netanyahu, telling followers to vote for the prime minister to complete the work already begun. Trump wrote, “Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister; we have to finish the job that we started!”

Falk's comments build on remarks he made in an interview on October 15, where he described Israel as being very close to establishing the conditions for a change in Iran's leadership. At that time, he emphasized that the final decision rests with the Iranian people rather than external actors alone. He repeated this sentiment in his Monday remarks, though without providing specific details on the methods or timeline for the transition.

The written comments did not outline a specific plan for how the two nations would collaborate to achieve this goal, nor did they set a deadline for when such changes might occur. Falk's remarks position the upcoming election as a referendum on the future of the US-Israeli relationship regarding its most significant regional rival.

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, October 27, to determine the next government. The campaign has increasingly focused on foreign policy coordination, with both sides framing their candidates' foreign policy stances as central to national security.