Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Friday that the price Iran had paid for its nuclear ambitions was total military defeat, announcing that twenty days of conflict had eliminated the country’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 swift conclusion. Netanyahu was direct and analytically precise throughout the press conference.
The prime minister addressed his partnership with Trump in terms that emphasized its genuine and mutual nature. 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 with analytical insights that reflected the depth of Trump’s own convictions.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and disclosed Trump’s personal request to pause further strikes on 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 pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a permanent structural solution. Netanyahu argued this would permanently neutralize the Hormuz chokepoint and create durable energy security for the region.
Netanyahu concluded with observations about Iran’s visible leadership dysfunction. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and admitted genuine uncertainty about who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition for power in Tehran and concluded that this political instability, combined with military losses, was driving the war toward a faster-than-expected conclusion.