Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a decisive declaration on Friday, stating that Iran had wanted to be a nuclear power and that Israel had made sure it never would be, through twenty days of conflict that eliminated Tehran’s uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production capabilities. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy and expressed confidence the war was heading toward a rapid conclusion. Netanyahu was firm and historically aware throughout the briefing.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel alliance in strong terms. He described their coordination as historically unprecedented and positioned Trump as the dominant partner. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had contributed his own independently formed understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, enriching their shared strategy with analytical depth.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and disclosed Trump’s personal request to hold off on further strikes targeting Iranian gas infrastructure. He presented both the military action and the diplomatic communication transparently, treating them as natural features of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military autonomy remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz issue, Netanyahu called Iran’s closure threats empty blackmail. He proposed overland pipeline routes from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural solution. Netanyahu argued this would permanently eliminate the Hormuz chokepoint as an Iranian weapon.
Netanyahu concluded with observations about Iran’s visible leadership dysfunction. He noted Mojtaba had not been seen publicly and admitted genuine uncertainty about who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition for power in Tehran and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was pushing the war toward an accelerated conclusion.