JERUSALEM/TEHRAN/LONDON/DOHA – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "committed" to overthrowing Iran's government and that he had discussed the goal with US President Donald Trump on Sunday.

"We must complete the overthrow of the Iranian regime. That is the main thing. I have discussed this with President Trump more than once, including two days ago," Netanyahu said during public remarks at a university in northern Israel on Tuesday.

Overthrowing the Iranian government would also lead to the "elimination of Hezbollah" and peace with Lebanon, he said.

The remarks came after Trump endorsed Netanyahu for re-election on Sunday, ahead of Israel's national elections next week. Netanyahu has made his close ties with Trump a central campaign argument, portraying their partnership as essential to confronting Iran.

Last week, Netanyahu said he did not favor a preemptive strike on Iran before the Israeli legislative election on Oct 27, rejecting accusations by political rivals that he was seeking a military confrontation for electoral gain.

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Netanyahu has repeatedly called for the overthrow of Iran's government, telling Iranians during the 12-day war in 2025 that their "hour of freedom is near" and renewing that call when Israel and the United States launched another offensive in February.

'Violating' tankers caught fire after hitting mines near Hormuz Strait

Also on Tuesday, the navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a "violating" supertanker exploded and caught fire earlier in the day after hitting a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz, the third tanker to catch fire after striking mines in the waterway.

In a statement published on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News, the navy said the vessel, carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude, had turned off its radar and navigation systems and ignored the navy's warnings while seeking to exit the strait via an "unauthorized" route south of the waterway.

The IRGC Navy warned that vessels using "unauthorized" routes would bear responsibility and that any action disregarding the waterway's security would meet a "decisive" response.

Earlier in the day, the IRGC said two "violating" oil tankers had caught fire after hitting mines laid by its naval forces in the strait.

The oil tankers sought to cross the strait through the "illegal" route south of the waterway when they collided with the mines, said the IRGC, warning that attempting to cross the mined path in the strait is "illegal" and will result only in the burning of the "violators' assets."

The IRGC added that in another operation, its air defense forces shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone Monday night over the Strait of Hormuz, noting that its forces are constantly monitoring the situation in the region and will continue to exercise sovereignty and management over the strait.

Two men re-arrested in RAF Fairford investigation

In another development, British counterterrorism police said they had re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service over an alleged plot near RAF (Royal Air Force) Fairford, a military airbase in southwestern England, Sky News reported.

The two suspects, a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national, were arrested on suspicion of assisting the foreign intelligence service, which the police confirmed relates to Iran, according to the report.

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On Sept 27, British police evacuated homes near RAF Fairford while army bomb-disposal experts were called in to examine several vehicles nearby. Seven people have since been arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses and preparing an act of terror. The seven suspects, all in their 20s, have been released on bail.

RAF Fairford is a British military airbase used by the US Air Force. About a dozen B-1 bombers had been stationed at the base before earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed that all US bombers deployed to RAF Fairford had returned to their home stations in the United States.

Qatar: US-Iran contacts ongoing

Speaking at a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Ibrahim bin Sultan Al-Hashmi, director of the media and communications department at Qatar's Foreign Ministry, reaffirmed that diplomatic contacts and exchanges of messages between Washington and Tehran were continuing through mediation channels.

"The efforts have not stopped, and as mediators, we must remain optimistic," Al-Hashmi said, adding that the objective was to reach a settlement that would end the crisis, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt the escalation.