Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu painted a comprehensive portrait of Iranian defeat on Friday, declaring that the country’s generals were silent, its leaders were hiding from public view, and its war was effectively lost following twenty days of conflict that eliminated Iran’s uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production capabilities. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu was clinical and confident throughout the press conference, presenting multiple layers of evidence for Iran’s comprehensive defeat.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel relationship with characteristic warmth and directness. He described their coordination as historically unprecedented and framed Trump as the alliance’s dominant force. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had contributed his own independently formed and analytically deep understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, enriching their shared strategic framework.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and disclosed Trump’s personal request to hold off on further attacks on Iranian gas facilities. He handled both disclosures transparently, presenting them as natural elements of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military decision-making authority remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz question, Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s closure threats as hollow blackmail. He proposed overland pipeline routes 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 create lasting energy security for the region.
Netanyahu concluded with a pointed assessment of Iran’s internal collapse. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and admitted he did not know who was governing Iran. Netanyahu observed fierce competition among Tehran’s power factions and declared that this combined with military losses meant the war was effectively already over, even if the formal conclusion had yet to arrive.