Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday delivered a striking assessment of the war’s progress, asserting that Iran has lost all functional capacity to enrich uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles in just twenty days. He denied forcefully that Israel had been responsible for drawing the United States into the conflict, branding that characterization as fake news. Netanyahu’s tone throughout the press conference was one of assured victory and strategic clarity.
Netanyahu spoke with evident pride about his working relationship with President Donald Trump, calling it the most coordinated alliance between two leaders in recent memory. He emphasized that Trump leads the partnership while he serves as a committed ally, framing the dynamic as respectful and collaborative rather than hierarchical. Netanyahu credited Trump with independently grasping the full scope of the Iranian nuclear threat.
When asked about Israel’s strike on the South Pars gas compound, Netanyahu was clear that it was an independent Israeli action. He did, however, share that Trump had subsequently requested Israel refrain from additional strikes on Iran’s gas infrastructure. The public acknowledgment of this communication reflected the depth and transparency of the two governments’ wartime dialogue.
Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s Hormuz threats as ineffective blackmail, confidently predicting they would produce no meaningful outcome. He laid out an ambitious plan for energy pipelines cutting across the Arabian Peninsula toward Israeli Mediterranean ports, offering a structural alternative to Hormuz dependency. Netanyahu portrayed this vision as part of a broader post-conflict regional order he hoped to help establish.
Commenting on Iran’s new leadership, Netanyahu said he was watching cracks emerge at the highest levels of Tehran’s political structure. The continued absence of Mojtaba, the anticipated new supreme leader, was taken as a sign of disarray. Netanyahu suggested that whoever was running Iran right now was doing so under enormous pressure, and that this uncertainty was a significant factor in his confidence that the war could end sooner than anticipated.