Netanyahu Says Israel-US Campaign ‘Crushing’ Iran, Regime Will Fall

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Tuesday night that the joint Israel-US effort was "systematically crushing" the Islamic dictatorship while eliminating existential dangers to the Jewish state, praising "enormous accomplishments" in the war against Iran.

Speaking to the country in Hebrew ahead of the Jewish holiday of Pesach (Passover), Netanyahu emphasised that although Israel forges "new alliances with important countries in the region" to combat the common threat coming from Tehran, the Iranian government will fall "sooner or later."

The Israeli prime minister just expressed his hope that "soon, I will be able to tell you more about these vital alliances," without naming any nations.

"On the eve of this Festival of Freedom, Israel is stronger than ever. The entire world hears our lion’s roar in our struggle against the evil regime in Iran, a struggle in which we have achieved immense, enormous accomplishments", Netanyahu said.

The address came at a time when the nation is mourning the deaths of four soldiers in the ground operation in Lebanon. He expressed condolences saying that these achievements also come with "painful costs".

"Marking one month of our joint campaign with the US, we are systematically crushing the terrorist regime that for decades cried: 'Death to America, Death to Israel.'....the regime of the Ayatollahs made a massive effort to annihilate us, to take over the Middle East, and to threaten the entire world", the Israel prime minister claimed.

"It tried to promote these murderous ambitions through the development of nuclear programmes and ballistic missiles, the funding and arming of terror proxies around us, and by weathering the heavy sanctions imposed upon it", Netanyahu said.

"Now, I want to tell you: Over the years, all of this has cost Iran nearly a trillion dollars. And now it can be said: That trillion has gone down the drain", he asserted.

The Israeli premier emphasised that "we have dealt ten plagues upon the axis of evil"—the blow to Hamas in Gaza, the blow to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the blow to (Bashar) Assad in Syria, the blow to terrorist groups in Judea and Samaria, the blow to the Houthis in Yemen, and five more blows to Iran—drawing comparisons with the legend of Passover.

Netanyahu listed "their nuclear programme, their missiles, the regime's infrastructure, its forces of oppression, and the 'Plague of the Firstborn', or in our case, the blow to the senior leadership" as one of the blows to Iran.

"From the tyrant Khamenei, to the nuclear scientists, and onto the master-murderers of the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij, not to mention Nasrallah, Haniyeh, Deif, Sinwar, and many, many more", Netanyahu said naming leaders of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas assassinated by Israel since October 7, 2023.

Contending that Iran is "weaker than ever" and Israel "stronger than ever", the Netanyahu vowed that the campaign against the Islamic republic "is not yet over".

He also claimed that Israel had awakened the world to the dangers posed by Iran with most of the leaders quietly acknowledging but some also acting against it.

"I spoke with leaders in the Middle East in secret and in public meetings. I spoke with leaders in Europe. I also spoke with leaders in the US, with US presidents. They did not internalise the danger. Today, there is no one who does not understand the magnitude of the threat. There are those who tell me in private conversations: 'Prime minister, we understand. We are afraid to say it, but we understand'. And there are those who say: 'We understand', and, thank God, they are also acting", he said.

The Israeli leader, praising the solid cooperation with the United States, declared that the Iranian regime was "shaken" and that "sooner or later, it is destined to fall" after the united forces delivered "crushing blows" to it.

Netanyahu reiterated the existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear and missile program and asserted that Israel has dealt a serious blow and eliminated them "from over our heads" with the twin operations, "Rising Lion" in June of last year and the ongoing "Roaring Lion."

Following the address, some Israeli analysts interpreted it as Netanyahu laying the groundwork for the possibility that Donald Trump will decide to halt the war with Iran without an agreement.

Recently, Trump has implied that the campaign's objectives have been met and that he may opt to end it.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Netanyahu's speech as "arrogant", accusing him of having accomplished just one thing -- "dismantling us from within".

Lapid made the comments in relation to the controversial budget passed by the government, which appeases large segments of the Jewish communities that do not serve in the army, and also on the passing of death penalty bill.