Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons, a goal he has long alleged Tehran is pursuing, regardless of the course of diplomacy with Washington and Arab states.
It comes as Israeli media reported Jerusalem is preparing for the possibility of conducting unilateral strikes against Iran if the war between the Washington and Tehran ends.
“I want to emphasize once again: with an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting.
Trump said he is “low keying it” in his approach to Iran, suggesting he thinks he could wait Tehran out economically. Meanwhile, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Gen. Dan Caine was reportedly looking for an “exit route” from the conflict, saying that further escalation would generate new risks and make it hard for Trump to achieve his objectives through airstrikes.
Netanyahu’s declaration signals that Israel’s core security doctrine toward Iran remains unchanged, even as Washington explores diplomatic options and seeks to avoid a wider conflict. The message underscores a widening strategic gap between Israel’s insistence on eliminating Iran’s nuclear potential and the U.S. preference for managing escalation. If diplomacy produces only temporary limits rather than a lasting rollback, Israel may consider independent action, creating a major flashpoint that could reshape regional security dynamics and challenge U.S. efforts to contain the crisis.
