Jerusalem, Apr 1 (PTI) Lauding "enormous accomplishments" in the war against Iran, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday evening that the joint Israel-US campaign was "systematically crushing"
the Islamic regime while removing existential threats to the Jewish state.
Addressing the nation in Hebrew ahead of the Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover), Netanyahu stressed that “sooner or later” the Iranian regime will fall, while Israel creates “new alliances with important countries in the region” against the shared threat emanating from Tehran.
The Israel prime minister did not mention any country but in the passing simply said he hopes that “soon, I will be able to tell you more about these vital alliances”.
"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.
Drawing parallels with the legend of Passover, the Israel premier stressed 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 organisations in Judea and Samaria, the blow to the Houthis in Yemen, and five more blows to Iran.
Among the blows to Iran, Netanyahu counted the hit on "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".
"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.
Touting the strong alliance with the US, the Israel leader said the combined forces had dealt "crushing blows" to the Iranian regime which is 'shaken' and "sooner or later, it is destined to fall".
Re-iterating the existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear and missile programme, Netanyahu claimed through the twin operations -- 'Rising Lion' in June last year and the current 'Roaring Lion" -- Israel had dealt a severe blow and removed them "from over our heads".
Following the address, some Israeli analysts interpreted it as Netanyahu laying the groundwork for the possibility that US President Donald Trump will decide to halt the war with Iran without an agreement.
Trump has recently hinted that the campaign has achieved its stated goals and he may simply decide to stop 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. PTI HM ARB
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