Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Friday’s press conference to project confidence about the conflict’s outcome, declaring that Iran had lost its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities after twenty days of fighting and predicting the war would end sooner than people thought. He rejected claims that Israel had engineered US involvement in the conflict. Netanyahu’s demeanor was calm and assured throughout the briefing.
The prime minister spoke directly about his relationship with Trump, calling it the most closely coordinated partnership between two world leaders he had experienced. He argued that Trump was fully independent in his decision to engage with Iran, pushing back against any suggestion that Israel had steered the American president. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had brought his own sophisticated and independently formed understanding of the Iranian nuclear threat to their partnership.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel acted alone in striking the South Pars gas compound and disclosed Trump’s personal request to pause further strikes on Iranian gas facilities. He handled the disclosure with transparency and confidence, framing it as evidence of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu maintained that Israel’s operational independence was a principle that had not been and would not be compromised.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu labeled Iran’s closure threats blackmail and said they would fail. He proposed overland pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports, framing them as both an immediate solution and a long-term investment in regional energy security. Netanyahu argued this would permanently neutralize one of Iran’s most feared geopolitical pressure tools.
Closing the press conference, Netanyahu highlighted the uncertainty surrounding Iran’s new leadership. The anticipated new supreme leader had not been seen publicly, and Netanyahu said he genuinely did not know who was running the country. These signs of internal chaos, combined with military losses, led Netanyahu to conclude the war would conclude on an accelerated timeline.
