Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran's nuclear threat in 12-day war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its programme.
"We have removed two immediate existential threats to us - the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles," he said in video remarks issued by his office.
'If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.'
He called it a historic victory that would stand for generations.
He said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose U.S. military had dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran's underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend.
'Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,' Netanyahu said.
He spoke hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel's closest ally.
Netanyahu said Israel's work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran's ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian militant group carried out a surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
About 20 are believed to be alive.
"We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead," he said. REUTERS
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They took no measures to stop it and instead turned their back on Assad in the hope that they could build at least basic ties with the next government. But Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa appears to have other priorities, including strengthening ties with the US and its allies, and courting the Gulf Arab states in the pursuit of economic dividends to help him build his constituency and overcome his difficulty controlling all of Syria. In the pursuit of a 'no problems with neighbors' policy', he went so far as to barely respond to Israeli strikes on Syria and to allow Israel to use his country's airspace in its campaign against Iran. The Gulf Arab states While Iran has had good ties with the Gulf Arab states Oman and Qatar, its relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE were tumultuous until recently. The latter two encouraged US President Donald Trump's efforts to exert 'maximum pressure' on Iran during his first term. 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