Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a combined military and political assessment on Friday, declaring that Iran had lost both its uranium enrichment capability and its ballistic missile production infrastructure while also noting that the country’s anticipated new supreme leader had not been seen publicly since fighting began. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu projected confidence throughout, suggesting the war was moving faster toward resolution than most people realized.
The prime minister was direct about the nature of his relationship with Trump. He called it the most closely coordinated partnership between two world leaders he had ever witnessed, while framing Trump as the alliance’s driving force. Netanyahu disclosed that Trump had contributed his own analytical understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, reflecting an independently formed and sophisticated strategic worldview.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas complex alone and acknowledged Trump’s personal request to hold off on further attacks on Iranian gas facilities. He presented this communication as a natural feature of a close and transparent alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel retained full authority over its own military decisions.
On the Hormuz question, Netanyahu labeled 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 neutralize Hormuz as a tool of Iranian geopolitical pressure.
Netanyahu’s closing remarks focused on the leadership vacuum in Tehran. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and admitted he was unsure who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to the visible competition for power among Iran’s ruling factions and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was pushing the conflict toward a faster-than-expected end.
