Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that nearly three weeks of coordinated air strikes by American and Israeli forces have effectively stripped Iran of its capacity to enrich uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles. Speaking to the foreign press on Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister struck a triumphant tone, asserting that the joint military campaign had pushed the Iranian regime to the brink of collapse.
While he stopped short of offering specific evidence to verify that enrichment facilities had been fully neutralised, Netanyahu was emphatic that the strikes had systematically dismantled the industrial infrastructure required for Tehran’s strategic weapons programmes. He noted that the operation was specifically targeting the factories responsible for producing the critical components of both missiles and drones, alongside any nuclear ambitions the regime held.
The Prime Minister also moved to dismiss suggestions that Israel had manipulated Washington into the escalation. He argued that President Donald Trump was a leader who made independent decisions based solely on American interests, though he praised the "lightning speed" of their current cooperation. According to Netanyahu, the two leaders see "eye to eye" on the threat posed by Iran, adding that the international community owed the American President a debt of gratitude for his stance.
However, the coordination has its limits. Netanyahu confirmed that while Israel had acted independently in its strike against the South Pars gas compound, he had agreed to a request from President Trump to pause further attacks on Iran’s major gas fields for the time being.
Beyond the physical damage to military hardware, Netanyahu pointed to what he described as significant instability within the Iranian leadership. He claimed that the regime was showing "cracks" and suggested that there was intense internal friction among top officials, though he declined to provide further details. While he refused to rule out the possibility of a ground component in the future, he noted that any eventual change in government would ultimately rest with the Iranian people themselves.
Netanyahu, who opened the briefing with a wry comment regarding recent rumours about his own health, concluded by stating that the ongoing campaign was a necessary measure to protect not only the Middle East but the wider world from Iranian aggression.
Also read: Trump distances US from Israeli strike on Iran’s Pars Gas Field
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