Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Friday that the war had fundamentally changed everything for Iran and for the entire Middle East region, pointing to the elimination of Tehran’s uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities as transformative developments after just twenty days of fighting. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu was visionary and expansive throughout the press conference, projecting confidence about both the war’s conclusion and the region’s post-conflict trajectory.
The prime minister addressed his relationship with Trump in notably personal and strategic terms. He called their coordination historically unprecedented and framed Trump as the alliance’s dominant force. 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 strategic thinking.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas complex alone and acknowledged Trump’s personal request to hold off on further strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure. He handled both disclosures with transparency, presenting them as natural features of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s operational independence remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz issue, Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s closure threats as blackmail that would fail. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural solution. Netanyahu argued this infrastructure would permanently neutralize the Hormuz chokepoint and transform the region’s energy architecture.
Netanyahu closed with observations about Iran’s internal collapse. He noted Mojtaba had not been seen publicly since fighting began and admitted genuine uncertainty about who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition for power in Tehran and concluded that this political chaos, combined with military losses, was driving the war toward a faster-than-expected end.