Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a blunt two-part verdict on Friday: Iran’s anticipated supreme leader was missing from public view and its military had been effectively destroyed after twenty days of conflict that eliminated its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production capabilities. He declared it was essentially game over and rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu was confident and forward-looking throughout the press conference.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel alliance with candor and admiration. He described their coordination as historically unprecedented and framed Trump as the dominant partner. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had contributed his own independently formed and analytically sophisticated understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, reflecting a genuine partnership of strategic equals.
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 infrastructure. He handled both disclosures transparently, treating them as natural elements of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military autonomy remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz issue, Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s closure threats as empty blackmail. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a permanent structural solution. Netanyahu argued this infrastructure would permanently neutralize the Hormuz chokepoint and create lasting energy resilience for the region.
Netanyahu concluded with his most direct assessment of Iran’s condition, noting Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and that he genuinely did not know who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to the fierce competition for power in Tehran and declared that this chaos, combined with military losses, confirmed his view that the war was essentially over.