David (Dedi) Barnea, who until recently served as Mossad chief, said the regime in Iran will continue to pursue its nuclear program with or without an agreement, in remarks at the Israel Hayom Summit 2026 in New York City on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Barnea said "we achieved an unprecedented result" in two wars in Iran. Barnea said it must be understood that "as long as this regime exists," Iran will pursue a nuclear weapon to fulfill ambitions to destroy Israel and sow fear in the whole world. "They will continue to pursue a nuclear program," Barnea said, adding that this would happen with or without an agreement.
Even now, Barnea said, "they are still trying to recover the nuclear program" as the only means of protecting "their crumbling regime." After two wars, Barnea said, there are three options. The first is an agreement with a regime whose sole ambition, Barnea said, is to destroy Israel, and which massacred thousands of its own people. An agreement, Barnea said, would be a prize to the regime's strategy of destruction and terrorism, and a gift of immunity and stability forever. Barnea said of that prospect, "this is the danger."
In Barnea's opinion, the chance of reaching an agreement that Iran would respect, with zero nuclear capabilities, is "very low." Barnea said that under any agreement the regime would pursue a nuclear weapon in the long term. "War is a very highly effective option," Barnea said, but it would carry huge consequences that would shock the global energy market and economy. Barnea said war would also lead to a faster collapse of the regime, "which is struggling today to survive."
"But there is another way," Barnea said, citing continued sanctions and a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Barnea said the regime would struggle for its survival with its struggling economy and without income from oil exports. "The Iranian people have proven noble courage," Barnea said. Barnea said millions are waiting to rush out to claim their freedom. Barnea said "this option requires endurance and patience and determination."
"If for any reason you lack this strength," Barnea said, war is the only possibility to topple the regime.
Barnea said the president of the United States paid a huge political price for doing the right thing for generations ahead. The American president, Barnea said, "proved that doing the right thing is not always the popular choice."
Barnea also described the pager operation as a "surgical strike that physically paralyzed thousands of terrorists at once." More importantly, Barnea said, the operation completely broke the spirit of Hezbollah commanders. Barnea said it was crucial to know that "we performed dozens of tests to make sure there are zero civilian casualties, zero collateral damage to civilians."
Barnea said that held true "even at the cost of effectiveness," adding, "This was done based on our high moral standards and values."
"Decisions of a few individuals determined the fate of billions," Barnea said, but Barnea based all recommendations on the strength and diversified ideas of case officers, combatants and intelligence officers. Barnea said the pride extended to all the partners who served alongside Barnea to protect the country in this historic period. That pride applies to "the unfamiliar faces who helped me do so," Barnea said.
Barnea turned to Prof. Miriam Adelson, calling her a true fighter for the resilience of the State of Israel. Barnea said the public knows very little about Adelson's contribution to the country.
Barnea said that as chief negotiator, Barnea had the privilege of witnessing Adelson's support, and had seen much more of the contribution behind the scenes in recent years. Barnea thanked Adelson on behalf of all Israelis. Barnea said the one thing asked of subordinates was to prepare for war against Hezbollah and Iran, which Barnea called the head of the octopus.
"We changed the way we looked at operations," Barnea said. "On October 7 we were organized and ready to face the challenges ahead of us," Barnea said.
Barnea said there was a system to settle the score with Haniyeh, whom Barnea called the chief terrorist, and a system to strike in Lebanon the Mossad way. Later on, Barnea said, there was readiness to operate with dozens of well-trained agents in Iran. Immediately after the pager operation, Barnea said, the walkie-talkies were activated, "turning them into absolute fear of touching any device."
"Then our air force crushed strategic sites," Barnea said. Barnea called the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah "a historic moment of pure justice" and referred to Nasrallah as "the master murderer." Barnea said that in that operation, Mossad and military intelligence "relayed second by second intelligence directly into the cockpit of the pilots."
