Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Friday that Israel had struck Iran where it hurt most, targeting and destroying the country’s uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production capabilities in twenty days of precise and decisive military operations. He predicted the war was racing toward its conclusion and rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu was confident and aggressive in tone throughout the press conference.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel relationship with clarity and warmth. He called their coordination historically unprecedented and framed Trump as the dominant partner. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had contributed his own independently formed and analytically sophisticated understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, enriching their shared strategy.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and disclosed Trump’s personal request to pause further strikes on Iranian gas facilities. 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 dismissed Iran’s closure threats as empty blackmail. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a permanent structural alternative. Netanyahu argued this infrastructure would permanently eliminate the Hormuz chokepoint as an Iranian strategic weapon.
Netanyahu concluded with analysis of Iran’s visible leadership breakdown. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and admitted genuine uncertainty about who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition among Tehran’s ruling factions and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was accelerating the conflict’s conclusion.