Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Friday that Iran had been rendered militarily helpless after just twenty days of conflict, losing its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities in what he described as a decisive series of Israeli operations. He rejected claims that Israel had drawn the United States into the war. Netanyahu expressed strong confidence that the war was heading toward a conclusion much sooner than most people realized.
The prime minister addressed the nature of the US-Israel partnership with warmth and directness. He called it the most tightly coordinated relationship between two leaders he had ever seen, while making clear that Trump held the leading role. Netanyahu disclosed that Trump had brought his own independent and sophisticated analysis of Iran’s nuclear threat to the table, enriching their conversations with insights that went beyond standard Israeli briefings.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s unilateral strike on the South Pars gas compound and noted Trump’s request to hold off on further strikes at Iranian gas facilities. He treated this exchange as a natural element of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu was firm that Israel’s military autonomy remained uncompromised.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu called Iran’s closure threats blackmail and said they would fail. He proposed overland pipeline routes from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural alternative. Netanyahu argued this infrastructure would permanently reduce global vulnerability to Iranian maritime pressure tactics.
Netanyahu closed with remarks about Iran’s visible leadership chaos. He said the expected new supreme leader had not been seen publicly and admitted he did not know who was running Iran. The fierce competition for power within Tehran, combined with military losses, led Netanyahu to conclude the war would reach its conclusion faster than most currently anticipated.