Jerusalem [Israel], March 20 : Accusing Iran of attempting to "blackmail the world" by disrupting a key global oil route, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (local time) asserted that such efforts "won't work," as he outlined how Israel's ongoing military operations alongside the United States have completely destroyed Iran's capabilities.
While addressing a press conference, Netanyahu said, "The death cult in Iran is trying to blackmail the world by closing a key international maritime route - the Strait of Hormuz. It won't work. Israel is helping in its own way, and in other means the American effort to open the Straits of Hormuz. Imagine how the Ayatollah regime would be able to blackmail the entire world if they had ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads."
Netanyahu further said Israel and the United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump, were acting "with great determination and unprecedented strength" against Iran. He described "Operation Rising Lion" as a mission aimed at eliminating what he called existential threats posed by the Iranian regime.
"I am alive, and you are all witnesses... Under President Trump's leadership, America and Israel are acting together in Iran with great determination and unprecedented strength. Operation Rising Lion is designed to remove the existential threats posed by the Ayatollah regime, the regime that has waged war against America and Israel and the people of Iran for 47 years. It chants death to America, death to Israel, and it delivers death to its own people," he said.
Talking about the goals, he said, "Our goals are three - One, removing the nuclear threat. Second, removing the ballistic missile threat and removing both of these threats before they are buried deep underground and become immune to aerial attack. And third, this means creating the conditions for the Iranian people to grasp their freedom, to control their destiny."
"We have warned for decades that their ballistic missile programme would be used to attack these targets far and wide. And if they are not stopped, that is just the beginning," he warned.
Furthermore, Israeli PM accused Iran of targeting civilians and US-linked assets across multiple countries in the region, including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman, as well as through proxies in parts of Europe. He reiterated long-standing concerns over Iran's missile programme, cautioning that the threat would escalate significantly if paired with nuclear warheads.
"Just imagine what they would do if they had ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads... Just imagine what a great threat that would be," he said.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, with concerns growing over maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for global energy supplies.
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