Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Friday that Israel had acted entirely on its own in striking Iran’s South Pars gas field, one of the world’s largest natural gas installations, while also declaring that the war was gaining momentum toward a faster-than-expected conclusion. He announced Iran had lost all uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities after twenty days of conflict. Netanyahu rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of American foreign policy decisions.
On the US-Israel alliance, Netanyahu was expansive and clear. He described their coordination as historically unmatched and framed Trump as the partnership’s leader. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had contributed his own independent and deeply formed understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, reflecting a genuine meeting of strategic minds rather than a one-sided Israeli briefing.
Netanyahu confirmed the South Pars operation as a unilateral Israeli decision and acknowledged Trump’s personal request to hold off on further strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure. He presented both facts transparently, framing them as natural elements of a mature and communicative alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s operational autonomy remained fully intact.
Iran’s Hormuz threats were dismissed by Netanyahu as blackmail that would fail. He proposed overland pipeline routes from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural alternative. Netanyahu argued this would create durable energy resilience and permanently eliminate the Hormuz chokepoint as an Iranian weapon.
Netanyahu closed with analysis of Iran’s internal leadership chaos. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly during the conflict and said he was genuinely unsure who was running the country. Netanyahu pointed to fierce competition for power in Tehran and concluded that this instability, combined with military losses, was pushing the war toward an accelerated conclusion.
