Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out swinging against media narratives on Friday, blasting reports about Israeli pressure on the United States as fake news while simultaneously announcing that Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure had been substantially destroyed after twenty days of fighting. He described the conflict as going decisively in Israel’s favor and predicted its end would arrive sooner than most people expected. Netanyahu’s press conference was combative, detailed, and strategically forward-looking.
The prime minister addressed the relationship with Trump directly, rejecting the notion that Israel could have manipulated or steered the American president. He described Trump as a deeply self-directed leader who needed no Israeli persuasion to understand the dangers of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Netanyahu said Trump had in fact contributed his own independent analysis of the threat to their joint discussions, reflecting the depth and reciprocity of their partnership.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s unilateral strike on the South Pars gas compound and disclosed Trump’s personal request to pause further attacks on Iran’s gas infrastructure. He presented both facts openly, framing them as natural features of a close and functioning alliance. Netanyahu was clear that Israel’s right to independent military action remained uncompromised by diplomatic exchanges.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu rejected Iran’s closure threats as blackmail that would fail. He proposed pipeline routes from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a structural solution to Hormuz dependency. Netanyahu framed this as both an immediate response to Iranian pressure tactics and a long-term investment in regional energy resilience.
Netanyahu concluded with an analysis of Iran’s leadership chaos, noting the anticipated new supreme leader had not appeared publicly during the conflict. He said he genuinely did not know who was running Iran and pointed to visible competition among rival power centers in Tehran. These fractures, combined with military losses, reinforced Netanyahu’s prediction that the war would conclude sooner than most anticipated.