Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a statement to the public Monday evening—his first since Iran’s attack on Israel began yesterday evening, followed by extensive Israeli Air Force strikes against various targets in Tehran, including a petrochemical plant.
“We eliminated Iran’s immediate threat, but certainly not Khamenei’s threat—and I commit again, Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Hezbollah planned to destroy Israel’s cities with 150,000 rockets and missiles, but we eliminated Nasrallah,” Netanyahu said.
“We are dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure, including underground facilities in the Beaufort Ridge. Hezbollah and Iran are weaker than ever—but our fight with them is not over. They tried to impose a new equation on us, but that’s not acceptable.”
Netanyahu continued: “They thought they would fire on Israel and we wouldn’t respond—not on my watch. I firmly stand by our right to act against our enemies. I ordered the IDF to operate in Beirut, and they did. After Iran attacked Israel, we attacked them too.”
“If the terror regime attacks us again—we will respond with force. We are exercising our right to defend ourselves,” he said.
Earlier, Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to recent events: “The fate of Dahieh in Beirut is like the fate of northern communities—every attack on northern communities will lead to an attack in Dahieh. The IDF will continue to operate in Lebanon against the terror organization Hezbollah. We reject Iran’s threats outright. Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel—will be answered with great force as happened yesterday.”