Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a visionary assessment on Friday, declaring that he could see a new Middle East emerging from the conflict as Iran’s military power collapsed around it. He announced the elimination of Tehran’s uranium enrichment and ballistic missile production capabilities after twenty days of fighting and rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu was ambitious and forward-looking throughout the press conference, combining military declarations with a sweeping post-conflict vision.
The prime minister spoke about the Trump-Israel partnership in terms of shared historical significance. 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, enriching their shared strategy with insights that extended beyond standard briefings.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and disclosed Trump’s personal request to pause further strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure. He handled both facts transparently, presenting them as natural features of a close and communicative alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military autonomy remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz question, Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s closure threats as blackmail that would fail. He proposed overland pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a permanent structural solution. Netanyahu linked this infrastructure vision to a broader post-conflict agenda for regional transformation.
Netanyahu concluded with observations about Iran’s visible leadership breakdown. He noted Mojtaba had not been seen publicly and admitted genuine uncertainty about who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition among Tehran’s ruling factions and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was driving the war toward a faster-than-expected conclusion.