Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a dual verdict on Iran’s vulnerability on Friday, declaring that the country’s new leadership had no map forward politically while also having no meaningful military to fall back on after Israel destroyed its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities during twenty days of conflict. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy and expressed confidence that the war was heading toward a rapid conclusion.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel relationship with characteristic directness. He called their coordination historically unprecedented and framed Trump as the alliance’s dominant force. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had brought an independently formed and analytically sophisticated understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, enriching their shared strategic thinking.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and acknowledged Trump’s personal request to hold off on further strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure. He handled both disclosures transparently, framing them as natural elements of a close and communicative alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military autonomy remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz question, Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s closure threats as blackmail that would not work. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural solution. Netanyahu argued this would permanently neutralize the Hormuz chokepoint and create durable energy resilience for the region.
Netanyahu ended with observations about Iran’s leadership dysfunction. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and admitted he was genuinely unsure who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition among Tehran’s ruling factions and concluded that this political chaos, combined with military losses, was driving the war toward a faster-than-expected conclusion.
