Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a sweeping declaration on Friday, asserting that Iran’s capacity to threaten Israel had been effectively eliminated after twenty days of conflict had destroyed its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production capabilities. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US policy and predicted the war would end on Israel’s terms, sooner than most people anticipated. Netanyahu’s press conference was confident and strategically comprehensive.
The prime minister was expansive about the Trump-Israel partnership. He described their coordination as the most closely aligned between two world leaders he had ever witnessed and framed Trump as the dominant partner. Netanyahu disclosed that Trump had brought his own independently formed understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their joint discussions, reflecting a partnership of genuine strategic equals.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s unilateral strike on the South Pars gas compound and disclosed Trump’s request to hold off on further attacks on Iranian gas infrastructure. He presented both facts transparently, framing them as natural elements of a close and mature alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military autonomy remained fully intact.
On Iran’s Hormuz threats, Netanyahu was dismissive. He labeled them blackmail and proposed overland pipeline routes from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a structural solution. Netanyahu argued this would permanently neutralize the Hormuz chokepoint and reduce global vulnerability to Iranian maritime pressure.
Netanyahu ended with observations about Iran’s leadership breakdown. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly since the conflict began and admitted he was genuinely unsure who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition for power in Tehran and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was driving the war toward an accelerated conclusion.
