Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Friday’s press conference to make sweeping assertions about both the war’s outcome and his relationship with US President Donald Trump. He declared that Iran had been decimated militarily after twenty days of fighting, losing its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities. Netanyahu rejected claims that Israel had drawn America into the war, calling such reports false, and described himself and Trump as the most tightly coordinated leadership duo in living memory.
Netanyahu was careful to frame Trump as the stronger figure in the alliance, saying Trump is the leader and he is the ally. He challenged the premise that Israel could have manipulated Trump into the conflict, arguing that Trump arrived with independent and fully formed convictions about the Iranian nuclear threat. Netanyahu noted that in their conversations, Trump explained the dangers of Iran’s underground nuclear capabilities rather than receiving a one-sided briefing.
The prime minister confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound alone and disclosed Trump’s request to pause further attacks on Iranian gas infrastructure. He presented both the action and the communication as consistent with the functioning of a close and open alliance. Netanyahu insisted that Israel’s military independence remained intact despite the close coordination with Washington.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu labeled Iran’s closure threats hollow blackmail and said the international community would not be coerced. He proposed pipeline routes across the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a permanent alternative to Hormuz dependency. Netanyahu tied this vision to a broader post-conflict agenda for regional energy transformation.
Netanyahu concluded with pointed observations about Iran’s internal chaos, noting the anticipated new supreme leader had yet to make a public appearance. He said he genuinely did not know who was governing Iran and observed visible tension among competing factions. These fractures, Netanyahu argued, combined with military losses, were accelerating the conflict toward a faster-than-expected conclusion.