Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel had been saved from "annihilation" by its joint military campaign with the US against Iran, describing the operation as one of the most significant in the country's history. But even as Washington and Tehran move towards a peace agreement, he warned that Israel's fight against Iran and its regional allies is "not over."
In his first address since US President Donald Trump announced a preliminary agreement with Iran, Netanyahu sought to reassure Israelis concerned that the emerging deal could leave Iran's nuclear ambitions intact. The Israeli leader portrayed the military campaign as a strategic success and pledged that Israel would continue acting against threats across Lebanon and Gaza regardless of developments.
"With an agreement or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons -- not today and not tomorrow. As long as I am prime minister of Israel, it will not happen."
According to Netanyahu, Israel and the US succeeded in significantly weakening Iran's military capabilities, targeting nuclear infrastructure and damaging key defence assets. He claimed the campaign had pushed back threats that Israeli leaders believed posed a direct danger to the country's security.
Despite presenting the campaign as a success, Netanyahu made clear that Israel does not view the conflict as fully resolved. "We have saved Israel from annihilation but our struggle is not over," he said, as quoted by Time of Israel.
"This is true not only of Iran," he said, adding that Israel's fight would also continue against what he called "Iran's terror arms" across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the West Bank.
Without me, there'd be no Israel: TrumpUS President Donald Trump is not happy with his ally, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and he made that clear once again during the G7 Summit. The 80-year-old claimed that without him there would be no Israel because no American President in the past was willing to do what he did. At the G7 Summit in France, while reiterating that he has a "great relationship" with Netanyahu, Trump alleged in the same breath that without America, "there would be no Israel". "Without me, there would be no Israel because no other President was willing to do what I did...Israel would have been blown up a long time ago, had I not gotten involved," he further stressed. |
