Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates his long-standing position that Iran will not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons while he is prime minister. In a June 12 statement, Netanyahu frames preventing Iranian nuclear capabilities as a central mission of his leadership and Israel’s national security strategy, saying international pressure and diplomatic efforts he says Israel helped drive have slowed Tehran’s nuclear progress. He also reiterates what he calls full alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump on the goal of stopping Iran from becoming nuclear-armed, amid reports and debate inside Israel over potential diplomatic approaches between Washington and Tehran.
In a separate account also dated June 12, Netanyahu discusses a conversation with Trump following an Iranian missile attack. Netanyahu says Trump urged him to limit Israel’s response and asked whether the attack killed Israelis. Netanyahu says he rejected tying Israel’s retaliation solely to whether people were killed, adding that if Iran attacks Israeli territory, Israel will respond. He further states that Israel is not subordinate to the United States in deciding its security actions, while describing the countries as allies.
