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Nazanin Sharifian, an Iran-born former Mossad officer running for Israel's parliament with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party, told Iran International on October 24, 2026, that Israel should increase military and economic pressure on Iran's leaders to end their rule. A separate Iran International analysis noted that while Israeli leaders have differed over the years on how to deal with Iran's government, nearly every current Israeli prime ministerial candidate wants the Islamic Republic gone. A senior adviser to Iran's IRGC commander, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, pushed back on such rhetoric, arguing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions have inadvertently strengthened Iran and the Palestinian cause more than prominent reformers have.