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In his first comment on the peace deal between the United States and Iran that was announced early on June 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the Islamic Republic will not have a nuclear weapon.
“With an agreement or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons — not today and not tomorrow. As long as I am prime minister of Israel, it will not happen,” the primer said during a press conference.
Netanyahu went on to stress that the nuclear threat from Iran had been an “immediate danger” and Israel succeeded in removing it, “together with our American friends.”
“We launched the largest attack operation in Israel’s history. We targeted the nuclear scientists; we eliminated the leaders of the terror regime; we crushed the nuclear facilities; we destroyed missiles and the vast majority of the factories that produce missiles. We struck countless military industries and infrastructures. We destroyed their navy, their air force. We eliminated base commanders who massacred the Iranian people. We caused enormous damage — [some] estimate it in the hundreds of billions of dollars, some estimate it at even close to a trillion dollars — to Iran’s economy,” he said.
“We removed, for years to come, this danger hanging over us of the elimination of Israel’s population. That is what we did. We saved the State of Israel from annihilation,” he added.
Netanyahu noted, however, that “the struggle is not over and complete. We will need to continue standing guard, continue being strong and determined, and defend ourselves as much as necessary.”
“This is true not only against Iran,” he said, noting Israel’s fight will continue against “Iran’s terror arms” as well, as he said it has been doing against groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the West Bank.
Netanyahu added that in addition to fighting terror groups in those areas, “ we established deep security zones around Israel… in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria,” and stressed that “we will remain in the security zones for as long as necessary to protect our country.”
Answering questions from reporters, the primer said that he knows how to “stand firm” against the U.S. when it comes to Israeli security interests.
Speaking about U.S. President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said, “Many times we see eye to eye, and there are also cases in which we see less eye to eye. I am responsible for Israel’s security interests. I stand up for them.”
Netanyahu also declined to say whether he would permit Israel to strike Iran alone or act independently against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as one reporter asked.
It’s worth noting that Netanyahu is currently facing serious domestic backlash over the U.S.-Iran deal, including from within his own government.
Netanyahu’s latest remarks confirm that he is not in complete agreement with Trump on the deal. The Israeli Prime Minister had entered the war promising a total victory, and went as far as hinting that the attack would bring about the end of the regime in the Islamic Republic.
However, the deal reached very much favors Iran. It includes sanctions relief and covers the release of frozen assets. Worst for Israel, it calls for a complete ceasefire in Lebanon. Even the nuclear issue is not addressed directly, but will rather be the subject of 60-day talks with the U.S.
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