Iran being decimated: Netanyahu says war could end faster than people think

Netanyahu says Iran can no longer enrich uranium or build missiles after US-Israel strikes, claims major military gains, hints at ground action, and points to instability within Iran's leadership.

In Short

• Joint US-Israeli air strikes have weakened Iran's military capabilities
• Israel pauses strikes on Iran's gas fields at Trump's request
• Netanyahu denies dragging US into war, praises Trump alliance

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles, following nearly three weeks of coordinated US-Israeli air strikes.

“Iran can no longer enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu said, adding, “We are winning, and Iran is being decimated.”

Speaking to foreign media, Netanyahu said the joint campaign has significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities.

“What we’re destroying now are the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and to make the nuclear weapons that they’re trying to produce,” he said. He added that Iran’s missile and drone arsenal is being “massively degraded” and would be destroyed.

Netanyahu did not provide evidence to support his claim that Iran has lost its enrichment capability.

DENIES DRAGGING US INTO WAR

Netanyahu pushed back against suggestions that Israel had drawn Washington into the conflict. “Does anyone really think that someone can tell President (Donald) Trump what to do? Come on,” he says, adding that the US president “always makes his decisions on what he thinks is good for America.”

“In this case, those interests are absolutely clear. And so is the clarity of our achievements. Together in close coordination with President Trump, close coordination between America and Israel, our militaries, our intelligence services, we’re achieving goals in lightning speed,” he said.

I’M ALIVE: NETANYAHU MOCKS RUMOURS, PRAISES US ALLIANCE

Opening his remarks with a jab at speculation about his health, Netanyahu said, “First of all, I just want to say, I’m alive.” He went on to praise coordination with Washington, calling the US-Israel partnership critical.

“We are protecting the entire Middle East – and I venture to say, the entire world,” he said. Netanyahu added that he and US President Donald Trump “see eye to eye” on Iran, and said the world owes a “debt of deep indebtedness” to Trump.

NETANYAHU: ISRAEL ACTED ALONE, PAUSING GAS STRIKES

Netanyahu said Israel would hold off on further attacks on Iran’s major gas fields following a request from Trump. He also claimed that Iran’s military infrastructure has been severely hit.

Asked whether US President Donald Trump had approved Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel acted independently. “Fact number one, Israel acted alone against the South Pars gas compound. Fact number two, President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we’re holding off,” he said.

Netanyahu also pointed to signs of strain within Iran’s leadership, saying the regime is showing cracks. “I wish I could divulge all of them,” he said, adding that while Israel is working to create conditions for its collapse, “it may survive, it may not.”

WAR MAY EXPAND; LEADERSHIP UNCERTAINTY GROWS

While the war has so far been fought through air strikes, Netanyahu suggested that ground operations remain a possibility. “There are many possibilities for this ground component,” he said, without elaborating.

He also pointed to signs of instability within Iran’s leadership. “I’m not sure who is running Iran right now,” Netanyahu said, citing “a lot of tension” among top officials.

Despite the escalation, he said it is too early to predict whether the conflict will lead to an uprising. “It’s up to the Iranian people to show that, to choose the moment and to rise to the moment,” he said.

- Ends