Netanyahu: We’ll finish Iran campaign, it’s 80-90% done

The prime minister vowed to finish Israel’s campaign against Iran, despite a significant de-escalation in fighting.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel remains committed to finishing off the Iranian regime despite a marked de-escalation in the conflict, arguing that the Israeli military has already completed up to 90 percent of its campaign against Tehran but still has work to do.

Speaking to i24 News, Netanyahu said Israel had taken necessary action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he described as an existential threat to the Jewish state.

“The existence of the state was under threat from atomic bombs from Iran,” Netanyahu told the outlet. “We have done 80-90 percent of the work. We need to complete what remains.”

Netanyahu’s comments came despite the significant reduction in direct military exchanges between Israel and Iran, with both sides having stepped back from the intense strikes that characterized the height of the conflict.

The Israeli prime minister also discussed Iran’s extensive network of regional proxies, including Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the Yemen-based Houthis. He said one of his central war aims had been to weaken Iran’s influence across the Middle East by targeting both Tehran and the organizations operating on its behalf.

“My intention was that in the end we would confront Iran, the head of the octopus, cut off the arms, strike and wound this axis of evil — and we did it very forcefully,” he said.

“The Iranian regime will fall. We will bring it down,” Netanyahu added. “All our systems, under my direction, are working to bring down this regime and defeat it.”

Netanyahu also emphasized Israel’s continued ability to conduct military operations deep inside Iranian territory. Speaking about the Israeli Air Force’s ability to operate in Iran, he stressed that Israeli pilots “were there and can be there at any moment,” indicating that Israeli aircraft could return to Iranian airspace if necessary.

Despite Netanyahu’s forceful declaration that Israel had averted the nuclear threat from Iran, significant uncertainty remains over the condition of Iran’s nuclear program and the extent of the damage inflicted during the Israeli campaign.

In particular, the fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile remains unclear. Some of the country’s uranium had reportedly been enriched to 60 percent — well above the level required for civilian nuclear power and relatively close to weapons-grade enrichment.