Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that if the US and Israel had not struck Iran in joint operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, the world would have faced a nuclear holocaust.
In a Thursday press conference, Netanyahu claimed that in about a year, Iran would have been able to build intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of not only reaching Israel, but the US. Because of this, he argued, the West must reassert itself against the axis of evil headed by Iran.
"People want to be naive, they don't want to see what kind of world we're living in," he said. "If you look at the world as it is today, you have to be blind not to see that the democracies, led by the United States, have to reassert their will to defend themselves and to oppose their enemies in time, while there's still time, before the jarring gong of danger wakes them up - and wakes them up too late."
Beginning the conference in Hebrew, Netanyahu addressed Israel's citizens, saying he was proud of them for facing the difficulties of Operation Roaring Lion. He also emphasized the importance of following Home Front Command guidelines, and said that the military was focused on three goals: disrupting Iran's nuclear program, disrupting their ballistic missile capabilities, and presenting an opportunity for the Iranian people to "take their fate in their own hands."
"We are winning, and Iran is being decimated," Netanyahu said, noting that Iran's missile and drone arsenal is being massively degraded and will be destroyed.
"What we're destroying now are the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and to make the nuclear weapons that they're trying to produce," Netanyahu said.
Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles after 20 days of US-Israeli air attacks, Netanyahu added.
Despite the nearly three week war, it was still too soon to tell whether Iranians will take to the streets to try to overthrow their government, Netanyahu said.
"It's up to the Iranian people to show that, to choose the moment and to rise to the moment," he said.
"You, the citizens of Israel, are asking, 'How much time will it take?'" Netanyahu said. "And I say, it will take as much time as it needs."
Netanyahu refused to answer directly whether he would recognize exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, instead calling him a "force for good."
When asked about the future possibilities for the leadership of Iran, following Israeli assassinations of multiple prominent regime officials, Netanyahu admitted that he is not sure who is currently running Iran.
"I think that the hole that Khamenei has had is not going to be translated to anyone, not to Mojtaba if he's there, and not to anyone else," he said, adding that they are "seeing cracks" in the regime's authority and leadership.
Netanyahu also spoke about Iran's attacks on countries worldwide, describing the country as a "death cult" trying to "blackmail the world" through its control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Netanyahu says world owes Trump debt of gratitude
During his address, Netanyahu also stated that he and US President Donald Trump were fully aligned on the dangers of the Iranian regime, claiming that Trump had told him that they had to make sure Iran did not have nuclear weapons. He also fully denied claims that Israel had dragged the United States into a war with Iran, calling it "fake news."
"Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do? Come on," he said.
Netanyahu stated that the world owed Trump a debt of gratitude for Operation Epic Fury, as he had been safeguarding international interests by doing so. He claimed that, without Trump, Iran would have developed ICBMs to strike the United States.
Netanyahu repeatedly urged the world to imagine what Iran would do if it had nuclear weapons and missiles which could reach the United States.
"There's an enormous risk in not acting," he said, "Much more than not acting. And if you think that the oil markets are in in trouble today, think of Iran with nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. Then think of the blackmail that you would endure."
"I think what this war has done is unmask what Iran is," he said, talking about how the ruthlessness of the regime had revealed what a danger it is. He cited the aggression it had showed toward its citizens during the protests, and compared the lukewarm reactions of the world to the reactions of nations to Nazi Germany prior to World War II.
Netanyahu was also asked about Hezbollah, and discussed the extent to which the IDF had stymied their capability for attacks on Israel.
"Obviously Hezbollah is not what Hezbollah has been," he said, mentioning the dwindling amount of missiles the terrorist group had been reduced to.