Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset session in Jerusalem on July 16. [Reuters]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset session in Jerusalem on July 16. [Reuters]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday (local time) that ending the war with Iran requires Tehran to either change its regime or be weakened enough to recognize on its own that it must abandon its nuclear program and change course.

Speaking in a Fox News interview that day, Netanyahu added, "This is what President Donald Trump is trying to achieve, and I fully support his efforts."

The remarks were widely interpreted as suggesting that Iran's theocratic government must either be toppled or have its military capabilities devastated through intensified strikes.

Netanyahu said of the US pause in military operations: "If he can do it, if he can do it without intense military conflict, that's fine." The comment appeared to be a response to Washington's decision to hold off on further military action since Friday, after 13 consecutive days of airstrikes against Iran, citing ongoing talks with Tehran. Trump said the same day that the United States was "in serious talks with Iran" but warned he would order immediate military action if no deal was reached this time.

Netanyahu stressed that Iran must halt its nuclear program regardless of how the conflict ends. "Whether there's a deal or not, that program has to end," he said. Asked how much the war had set back Iran's nuclear program, he said it had been set back "quite a lot," but cautioned: "We've delayed the attempt, but that doesn't mean they won't try again. We have to be constantly on alert."

Netanyahu is visiting the United States on Monday. He is scheduled to hold talks with Trump at the White House and attend the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died suddenly in recent days.

Asked whether he would share new intelligence on Iran's nuclear program with Washington, Netanyahu said the two countries' intelligence agencies work so closely together that "I probably won't be able to present new information."

On the recent nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu said Riyadh would gain a civilian nuclear program in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. "The reason I stress 'civilian' is that the last thing we want — and the last thing President Trump wants — is a Saudi military nuclear program," he said.


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