Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a confident prediction on Friday that the war with Iran would end sooner than anyone currently thought possible, pointing to the destruction of Tehran’s uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities and the fracturing of its new leadership as evidence that the conflict was near its conclusion. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy. Netanyahu’s press conference was ambitious and forward-looking, projecting certainty about an imminent Israeli victory.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel relationship in terms that emphasized its historic nature. He called their coordination the most closely aligned partnership between two world leaders he had ever witnessed and positioned Trump as the alliance’s dominant force. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had contributed his own independently formed understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, enriching their shared strategic thinking.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s unilateral strike on the South Pars gas compound and disclosed Trump’s personal request to pause further attacks on Iranian gas facilities. He presented both facts with transparency, framing them as natural features of a close and communicative alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s operational independence remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz issue, Netanyahu dismissed Iran’s closure threats as blackmail that would fail. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural solution. Netanyahu argued this would permanently eliminate the Hormuz chokepoint as an Iranian strategic weapon.
Netanyahu concluded by noting the visible collapse of Iran’s new leadership. He said Mojtaba had not been seen publicly and admitted genuine uncertainty about who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to the fierce competition for power in Tehran and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was pushing the war toward a faster-than-expected end.