In a special press conference from his office in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the latest policy developments for the first time this evening (Monday), primarily the agreement signed between the Trump administration and Iran. Despite concerns in Israel that the agreement could reduce military freedom of action, Netanyahu presented an uncompromising line and made it clear that, for him, the strategic goal remains the same.
In his opening remarks, Netanyahu defined the fight against the Iranian nuclear program as both a personal and national issue. “For decades, I have been fighting Iran’s efforts to arm itself with nuclear weapons. I can define this as my life’s mission,” the Prime Minister declared. He sent a clear message to the international community and the regime in Tehran: “With or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Not today or tomorrow. As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel, this will not happen.”
Netanyahu brushed aside criticism of the results of the military campaign in Iran and wondered aloud: “Now I hear people asking, what have we achieved? And I answer them: We have removed the threat of immediate annihilation from us.” According to him, the joint military activity with the US was unprecedented: “We launched the largest strike flight in the history of Israel. We thwarted the nuclear scientists, beheaded the leaders of the terrorist regime and destroyed the nuclear factories.”
Damage to Iran: “Close to a trillion dollars”
The prime minister detailed the depth of the damage to Iranian infrastructure, and claimed that the Iranian economy suffered a fatal blow that will set it back for decades. “We destroyed missiles and the vast majority of the factories that produce missiles. We destroyed their navy and their air force,” Netanyahu listed, adding an astonishing economic figure: “We caused enormous damage. We estimate it at hundreds of billions of dollars. Some estimate it to be close to a trillion dollars.”
According to him, without the Israeli action, the world would have woken up to a completely different reality. “Iran was racing towards nuclear weapons. If we had not acted at the time we acted and with the intensity we acted, Iran would already have atomic bombs. This means that millions of Israeli citizens were in terrible danger of mass death. We have put this danger of the elimination of the Israeli population away from us for years.”
Gaza and Lebanon: “We brought everyone back, I did not accept the nonsense”
Netanyahu also referred to the parallel systems, while sharply criticizing elements in the defense establishment and politics who called for an end to the war at earlier stages. “They told me: ‘Prime Minister, we must give in, do not enter Rafah, end the war,'” Netanyahu repeated. “I did not accept this nonsense. We entered Rafah and returned all the hostages to the last one.”
In the northern sector, the Prime Minister emphasized the strategic change: “Hezbollah is a shadow of what it was. We prevented the Radwan force from invading the Galilee and destroyed the vast majority of the 150,000 rockets.” He declared that Israel would not rush to withdraw from the territories it had captured: “We will remain in the security strips as long as necessary to protect our country. Israel will not allow terrorist organizations to camp on our borders.”
“I am running in the elections to win”
During the question phase, Netanyahu responded to our political correspondent Moti Kastel, regarding his relations with President Trump and Israel’s red lines. “Trump is the President of the United States, I am the Prime Minister of Israel. I am responsible for our security interests and I stand by them,” Netanyahu said. “When necessary, I stand firm. Alliances are made with the strong, and Israel today is a very strong country.”
In response to a question about his political future, Netanyahu dispelled the fog surrounding rumors of a possible retirement: “Yes, I’m going to run and I also intend to win.”
Towards the end, the prime minister promised that the war achievements were just the beginning of a process of strengthening. He announced an additional 350 billion shekels to the defense budget for “weapons independence” and the development of groundbreaking technologies. “We are going to achieve many more great things,” Netanyahu concluded on an optimistic note. “We will build new alliances with countries in the region and beyond. Israel is stronger than ever, and the axis of evil of Iran is weaker than ever. Together, with God’s help, we will ensure the eternity of Israel.”