Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed to Iran’s silence as one of the most telling indicators of the conflict’s outcome on Friday, noting the conspicuous absence of any public statements from Tehran’s new leadership while also declaring that the country had lost its ballistic missiles and uranium enrichment capabilities after twenty days of fighting. He rejected claims about Israeli manipulation of US foreign policy and predicted the war would conclude sooner than most people expected. Netanyahu was measured and analytically sharp throughout the briefing.
The prime minister addressed the Trump-Israel relationship with characteristic warmth and precision. He described their coordination as historically unprecedented and framed Trump as the dominant partner in the alliance. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had brought his own independently formed and analytically sophisticated understanding of Iran’s nuclear threat to their discussions, contributing insights that enriched their shared strategy and reflected the depth of Trump’s own independent thinking.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas compound entirely alone and acknowledged Trump’s personal request to pause further strikes on Iranian gas infrastructure. He presented both the military action and the diplomatic exchange transparently, treating them as natural features of an extraordinary close alliance. Netanyahu maintained throughout that Israel’s military decision-making authority remained fully autonomous.
On the Hormuz issue, Netanyahu labeled Iran’s closure threats empty blackmail and dismissed them with confidence. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a permanent structural solution. Netanyahu argued this infrastructure would create lasting energy resilience for the region and permanently neutralize one of Iran’s most feared geopolitical weapons.
Netanyahu’s final remarks centered on the significance of Iran’s political silence. He noted Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and said he was genuinely unsure who was governing the country. Netanyahu pointed to the fierce competition among Tehran’s ruling factions and concluded that this combined with military losses was driving the war toward an end sooner than most observers had calculated.