Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Friday that Israel acted completely alone in striking Iran’s South Pars gas compound, while also declaring that Iran had lost all functional capacity to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles after twenty days of combat. He rejected reports of Israeli responsibility for US involvement in the war, calling them false. Netanyahu expressed confidence that the conflict was moving toward an earlier-than-expected resolution.
Netanyahu’s remarks on the Trump-Israel alliance struck a balance between candor and diplomacy. He described their coordination as historically unmatched and presented Trump as the senior partner in the relationship. Netanyahu disclosed that Trump had contributed his own independent analytical understanding of the Iranian nuclear threat to their discussions, rather than simply receiving intelligence briefings from Israeli sources.
Confirming the unilateral nature of the South Pars operation, Netanyahu also acknowledged Trump’s request for a pause in further strikes on Iranian gas facilities. He framed this as a communicative and respectful exchange between allied leaders. Netanyahu emphasized that Israel’s operational freedom was a fundamental and non-negotiable aspect of its military strategy.
On the Hormuz question, Netanyahu called Iran’s closure threats blackmail that would fail. He proposed overland pipelines from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a strategic alternative. Netanyahu framed this infrastructure plan as a critical long-term investment in reducing global dependence on the strait.
Netanyahu’s analysis of Iran’s internal situation painted a picture of a regime under pressure from multiple directions. He said he was watching cracks in the new leadership structure and noted that the new supreme leader had not appeared publicly. Netanyahu expressed uncertainty about who was actually running Iran and concluded that this instability was shortening the war’s timeline.