Netanyahu Claims Iran Has Lost Its Nuclear and Missile Capabilities, Declares “Overwhelming Victory”

According to The Financial News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the 19th (local time) declared that Israel had achieved an overwhelming victory in its war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

At a press conference held in Jerusalem that day, Netanyahu asserted, "The Islamic Republic of Iran can no longer enrich uranium and has also lost the ability to manufacture ballistic missiles."
Earlier, the Israeli Air Force announced that over the past 18 days it had dropped 12,000 bombs across Iran, destroying 85% of its air defense network and 60% of its ballistic missile launchers. In a first, Israel also struck a naval base on the Caspian Sea coast in northern Iran, claiming to have crippled the country’s military infrastructure on multiple fronts.
Netanyahu said, "Right now, the Islamic Republic of Iran is weaker than at any time in its history," and predicted, "The war with Iran could end sooner than people think."
He went on, "The allegation that Israel dragged the United States of America (US) into the war with Iran is fake news," and asked rhetorically, "Does anyone really think they can tell President Donald Trump what to do?" He then stressed, "Absolutely not. President Donald Trump has always made his own decisions based on what he believes is in the best interest of the United States."
Netanyahu also said that the United States and Israel are maintaining "close coordination" in their war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that this cooperation is allowing them to achieve their objectives at "lightning speed."
Netanyahu further stated, "At the request of President Donald Trump, we have agreed not to carry out any further airstrikes on Iran’s gas fields."
The previous day, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Unless the Islamic Republic of Iran attacks Qatar, Israel will not carry out any further strikes on the South Pars gas field facilities."
He continued, "Israel, in anger over what has happened in the Middle East, violently struck an important facility known as the Iranian South Pars gas field," adding, "The United States knew nothing about this particular attack."
His remarks came at a critical moment when the conflict risked escalating further: the giant South Pars gas field facilities in Iran had been hit by targeted airstrikes, and Iran had launched missile attacks on a cluster of gas facilities in Qatar, which accounts for 20% of global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supplies.
Netanyahu concluded by claiming that within the Iranian regime, "there are serious divisions at the top. It is not even clear who actually holds power and is leading Iran," and added, "The new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared in public. There is enormous tension among senior officials of the Iranian regime."

moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter