Key Points
- Netanyahu declared Iran has lost the ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles following 20 days of joint US-Israel military strikes
- Switzerland suspended arms exports to the United States amid the escalating conflict, while Israeli strikes hit 16 Iranian cargo vessels
- Netanyahu said operations will continue “for as long as necessary,” offering no timeline for ending the campaign
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday that Iran has lost the ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles, marking a significant claim as the joint US-Israel military campaign against the Islamic Republic entered its 20th consecutive day.
Speaking in Hebrew in opening remarks, Netanyahu said Israeli and American forces had moved beyond destroying existing Iranian missiles to dismantling the industrial infrastructure required to manufacture new ones.
“Now, after 20 days, I can announce to you that Iran has no ability to enrich uranium and has no ability to produce ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu said.
Strikes target Iran’s buried nuclear and missile programs
Netanyahu said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had ordered Iran’s nuclear and missile programs to be renewed and concealed deep underground before his death, a directive the Israeli prime minister said Israeli forces have been working to defeat.
“We are acting not only to destroy the remaining missiles, a few remain, but to destroy the industries that enable the production of these programmes,” Netanyahu said.
Khamenei was killed in a major coordinated attack by Israel and the United States on Feb. 28. Netanyahu described Iran as “weaker than ever” in the wake of the campaign, declaring Israel a regional power and “some would say a world power.”
No end date set as Switzerland suspends arms exports to US
Netanyahu declined to set a timeline for concluding the military campaign, saying operations would continue “for as long as necessary.”
The strikes have now stretched across three weeks, drawing mounting international attention and diplomatic fallout.
Switzerland announced it was halting arms exports to the United States amid the escalating conflict, a notable diplomatic signal from a country historically defined by its neutrality.
Separately, Israeli strikes struck 16 Iranian cargo vessels, broadening the scope of the military campaign beyond land-based targets.
The developments mark a sharp escalation in the Middle East conflict, with the US and Israel pressing a campaign that Israeli officials say aims to permanently degrade Iran’s capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction.
