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Agence France-Presse

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel and the United States were “winning” the war against Iran, with the Islamic Republic “decimated” and unable to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles.
In an English-language press conference, Netanyahu insisted Israel had “acted alone” in striking Iran’s massive South Pars gas field, while confirming that US President Donald Trump had asked Israeli forces to “hold off” on such attacks moving forward.
The Israeli premier also rejected the notion that he had dragged Trump into the conflict, implying that he was the junior partner in the joint assault on Iran.
“Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?” Netanyahu told reporters.

“He didn’t need any convincing,” he added.
“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.”
The veteran Israeli politician sought to paint a broad portrait of success for the nearly three-week-long conflict that has engulfed the Middle East.
“We are taking action to destroy the industries that make it possible to build missiles. Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu did not ‌provide ‌evidence for either claim.
“We are winning and Iran is being decimated.”
The offensive is also forging cracks among the surviving leaders of the Islamic Republic, divisions Israel is working to deepen, Netanyahu said.

“I’m not sure who’s running Iran right now. Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah, has not shown his face,” he said, referring to Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on the first day of the war.
“What we see is that there is a lot of tension inside the people who are edging for the top,” Netanyahu further said.
“We’re seeing cracks, and we’re trying to propagate them as fast as we can. Not only in the top command - we’re seeing cracks in the field.”
The strike on the Iranian gas field has shaken already jittery world energy markets and Trump on Thursday voiced his displeasure with the attack.
“We’re not doing that any more,” the US president said in the Oval Office.
Netanyahu made clear the message had been received.


“President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks and we’re holding off.”
Netanyahu also called Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent energy prices soaring, “blackmail” that “won’t work”.
The Israeli premier further indicated his campaign against Iran would continue, saying: “There’s still more work to do, and we’re gonna do it”.
Both Trump and Netanyahu have, on several occasions, expressed hope that the Iranian people would overthrow the government in Tehran.
“It is often said that you can’t... do revolutions from the air,” Netanyahu said.
“That is true,” he continued. “There has to be a ground component as well. There are many possibilities for this ground component and I take the liberty of not sharing (those) with you.”
“I also see this war ending a lot faster than people think.”
A US official and three other people familiar with the planning told Reuters that Trump was considering sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East.
But on ‌Thursday, Trump said he had no plans to deploy ground forces. “I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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US-Israel war on Iran

Israel’s Netanyahu says Iran ‘decimated’, hints at ‘ground component’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. Photo: EPA

Smoke and flames rise from Iran’s South Pars gas field following an Israeli strike. Photo: Social media via Reuters

The tail fin of a large missile protrudes from a field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Photo: Reuters

US F-35 hit by suspected Iranian fire, forced to make emergency landing

A US F-35C Lightning II lands on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury on March 7. Photo: US Navy via dpa

A US MQ-9 Reaper drone approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in December 2025. Photo: AFP

US has no end date for Iran war, strikes ‘very much on track’: Hegseth

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday. Photo: AFP

A volunteer salvages belongings from a house damaged in a strike in Tehran on Wednesday. Photo: WANA/Reuters 

Motorists drive past a billboard of Iran’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran’s largest gas field as Gulf energy war explodes

QatarEnergy facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, pictured here on March 2, came under attack on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Smoke and fire near Iran’s South Pars gas field following an attack. Photo: Social media via Reuters

An explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Europe says no to Trump’s Iran demands: ‘not our war’

People hold a banner with an image of US President Donald Trump during an anti-war protest in Malaga, Spain, on March 7. Photo: Reuters

People protest against US-Israeli attacks on Iran at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, on Monday. Photo: dpa

News

World

Middle East

Israeli PM boasts of destroying Tehran’s nuclear and ballistics capacity while hinting at at ‘many possibilities’ on the ground


Israeli PM boasts of destroying Tehran’s nuclear and ballistics capacity while hinting at at ‘many possibilities’ on the ground.


Israel’s Netanyahu says Iran ‘decimated’, hints at ‘ground component’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Israeli PM boasts of destroying Tehran’s nuclear and ballistics capacity while hinting at at ‘many possibilities’ on the ground

Israeli PM boasts of destroying Tehran’s nuclear and ballistics capacity while hinting at at ‘many possibilities’ on the ground