Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a wide-ranging press conference on Thursday (March 19) on the Iran war, highlighting Israel’s military achievements, the crippling of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, potential ground operations, cracks in Iran’s leadership and its close coordination with US President Donald Trump, while rejecting claims that Israel dragged the US into the conflict.
Here are 15 highlights from Netanyahu’s press conference on the Iran war:
1. Iran stripped of its nuclear and missile capabilities
“We are taking action to destroy the industries that enable the production of missiles. Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles.”
“Now we’re destroying the factories that make the components to make these missiles and the nuclear weapons they’re trying to make.”
3. Israel acted alone in the South Pars gas field
“Israel acted against the Asaluyeh gas compound on its own… President Trump has asked us to delay future attacks, and we’re sticking to it.”
4. Israel did not pressure the US into war
“Does anyone really think that anyone can tell President Trump what to do? …President Trump always makes decisions about what he thinks is good for America. And I might add, I think what’s good for future generations as well.”
5. Necessary ground operations
“While the war has so far been waged through airstrikes, there must also be a ground component…there are many options for that ground component.”
6. Close coordination with Trump
“I don’t think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He’s the leader. I’m, you know, his ally.”
7. Iran’s leadership is showing cracks
“I am not sure who is running Iran right now. Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah, has not shown his face. We see that there is a lot of tension within the people who are fighting for the top… We see cracks in the top command and in the field.”
8. The war could end sooner than expected
“I also see this war ending much faster than people think.
9. Strait of Hormuz threats will fail
“The death cult in Iran is trying to blackmail the world by closing a key international sea route, the Strait of Hormuz. That won’t work.”
10. The transformation of the Middle East
“The past will not come back… We really changed (the Middle East) beyond recognition. And we could turn Israel into a regional power, and some might say a global power in certain areas.”
11. Praise for Trump’s leadership
“The world owes a deep debt, a deep debt to President Trump for leading this effort to protect our future… I didn’t have to convince President Trump of the need to stop Iran from developing its nuclear program. He got it.”
12. Trump understood the nuclear threat
“I didn’t mislead anybody. And I didn’t have to convince President Trump about the need to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program, its underground location and the ability to launch nuclear-tipped missiles at the United States. He understood that.”
13. Israel did not drag the US into the war
“The duck we’ve gotten the United States into is not just a duck, it’s ridiculous.”
14. Trump’s early eupportation against Iran
“Bibi, we have to make sure Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons.
15. The Role of the Iranian People
“It is up to the Iranian people to show it, to choose a moment and rise up,” he said.
Read also | Trump Backs Pentagon Request for $200 Billion, Says ‘Small Price’ for America’s Defense
