Delivering one of his most personal assessments of the US-Israel alliance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Friday that no two world leaders had ever been as tightly coordinated as himself and Donald Trump. He made this declaration while also announcing that Iran had lost its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities after twenty days of war and dismissing reports that Israel had dragged the US into the conflict. Netanyahu’s press conference was wide-ranging and confident.
The prime minister described Trump’s role in the alliance as that of the leader, with himself as a dedicated and proud ally. He pushed back on the suggestion that Israel had manipulated Trump into the war, arguing that Trump was a deeply independent and self-directed leader who understood Iran’s nuclear threat without any Israeli persuasion. Netanyahu revealed that Trump had in fact offered insights that deepened his own understanding of the Iranian nuclear danger.
Netanyahu confirmed Israel struck the South Pars gas complex alone and disclosed Trump’s request to hold off on further strikes at Iranian gas infrastructure. He handled the disclosure with diplomatic grace, presenting it as evidence of healthy communication between two close partners. Netanyahu maintained that Israel’s military autonomy remained fully intact.
On the Hormuz issue, Netanyahu was dismissive of Iran’s threats, calling them blackmail that would yield no results. He proposed pipeline corridors from the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli and Mediterranean ports as a lasting structural solution. Netanyahu argued this infrastructure would permanently eliminate Hormuz as a weapon in Iran’s geopolitical arsenal.
Netanyahu ended with observations about Iran’s visible leadership disarray. He said Mojtaba had not appeared publicly and admitted he was genuinely unsure who was running Iran. Netanyahu pointed to the fierce competition for power within Tehran’s ruling hierarchy and concluded that these internal pressures, combined with military losses, were accelerating the conflict’s end.