Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first personal press conference since the start of the war with Iran. He began by dismissing viral rumors of his death as “fake news”. “I am alive and you are all witnesses,” he said.
As for Israel’s strategy of targeting Iran’s senior leadership, Netanyahu defended the approach as a deliberate effort to destabilize the regime from within.
“It’s part of the effort to break the regime. It won’t happen in one day, not even in 20 days,” he said.
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He added that visible “cracks” are already appearing and Israel is working to accelerate them.
Netanyahu confirmed that he had personally pledged to US President Donald Trump not to target Iran’s oil and gas facilities. Asked if he would stop the war if Washington pushed because of rising oil prices, he declined to answer directly.
“He’s a leader. I’m his ally,” he said of Trump.
When pressed about whether Israel could sustain the war without American refueling support, he deflected the question altogether. He told CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, “You’ve run out of questions.”
Netanyahu also rejected suggestions that Israel had drawn the United States into the conflict. He insisted that Trump is already fully aligned with the campaign.
“Anyone who thinks they can tell President Trump what to do is fooling themselves,” he said.
Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran on March 20, the same day Iranians celebrated Nowruz, the Persian New Year. According to the Associated Press, this marks a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
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The attacks came just a day after Israel pledged to refrain from striking a key Iranian gas field. Iran responded with increasing attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Persian Gulf.
Heavy explosions were also reported over Dubai early on Friday 20 March. Air defense intercepted incoming fire as residents observed Eid al-Fitr.
On the Israeli side, sirens sounded across much of the north, from Haifa to the Galilee and up to the Lebanese border. Iran continued its wave of missile attacks. The Israeli military reported more than a dozen rocket launches on March 19 alone.
The war is now sending shock waves through the global economy. Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, is putting severe pressure on global fuel supplies.
Petrol prices in India
Brent crude oil prices rose near $108 a barrel this week on rising tensions over the Israel-Iran war. In the United States, gasoline prices jumped almost 20%. Still, petrol prices have remained stable in Indian cities like Mumbai ₹103 per litre.
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The reason is the Indian “shock absorber” system. Oil companies and the government are working together to mitigate the impact of global price fluctuations on Indian consumers. This keeps fuel prices stable in the short term.
But India cannot keep prices stable indefinitely. The government has a buffer, an excise tax ₹19.9 per liter for gasoline and ₹15.8 per liter for diesel.
According to experts, it can protect prices up to $110 per barrel. For now, oil companies are absorbing the losses. If oil continues to rise, higher fuel prices for consumers will be inevitable.
