Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iranian regime must either fall or become sufficiently weakened to abandon its nuclear program, warning that Tehran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.

In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said Iran’s leaders must either be removed from power or change course.

“I think when this regime is either toppled or it’s sufficiently weakened that it knows it has to end its nuclear program and has to change its course,” he said, adding that this is “really what President Trump is trying to achieve.”

Netanyahu stressed that Iran’s nuclear program “has to come to an end” regardless of whether a diplomatic agreement is reached. “One way or the other, they have to end their nuclear program. And with a deal or without a deal, that has to come to an end,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Israel and the United States had pushed back Iran’s nuclear program by “a good few years” by eliminating “20 leading nuclear scientists” and striking nuclear facilities, while cautioning that Tehran could still attempt to rebuild its capabilities.

He added that Israeli and American intelligence agencies continue to work closely together ahead of his upcoming meeting with President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu also warned Iran against any future attack on Israel. “If Iran attacks Israel, either directly or through proxies… our response, Israel’s response, will be very, very forceful.”

Asked about New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of him, Netanyahu said he still intends to address the UN General Assembly later this year.

Netanyahu accused Mamdani of promoting hatred toward Israel and said his rhetoric has contributed to growing concerns among New York’s Jewish community. “I do think that Jews feel very uncomfortable,” he said. “They feel frightened.”

He also criticized Mamdani over his positions on Hamas, claiming he is “aligning himself with the criminals, with these murderers.”

Addressing the arrest warrants issued against him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court, Netanyahu dismissed the allegations and accused former ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan of pursuing politically motivated charges.

“He pulled a con job on the international community with these bogus charges of war crimes on us,” Netanyahu said.

Turning to Lebanon, Netanyahu said Israel has significantly weakened Hezbollah, destroying much of the terrorist organization’s military infrastructure near the border and eliminating most of its missile arsenal. “We weakened Hezbollah a lot,” he said, estimating that Israel had destroyed approximately 94 percent of the group’s rockets and missiles.

Netanyahu said Israel is working with the United States and Lebanon to push Hezbollah away from the border, disarm the terrorist organization and pursue peace. “I think it’s, on the whole, a positive development, and may lead to another peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country.”

Discussing the fighting in Lebanon, Netanyahu said most Israelis support maintaining a security zone along the border to prevent future Hezbollah attacks and argued that the country is more united than political debate suggests.

“There is a lot more unity in the country than appears,” he said.

He added that if reelected, he intends “to create a broad national government” following the upcoming elections.

On Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu welcomed President Trump’s reported approach of linking a civilian Saudi nuclear program to normalization with Israel, insisting the President “was absolutely right in stating that condition,” he said, stressing that any Saudi nuclear program must remain civilian.

Netanyahu expressed hope that the Abraham Accords could expand to include additional countries if Iran is further weakened, but declined to identify which states are currently engaged in contacts with Israel. “There are now contacts with several Arab countries in the Middle East,” he said.

Netanyahu also paid tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham, calling him “such a great friend, such a champion of America and a patriot, and such a champion of the Israeli-American alliance.”

Asked about rising antisemitism in the United States and its effect on bipartisan support for Israel, Netanyahu said he is concerned by what he described as growing intimidation of Democratic lawmakers.

“I worry about it,” he said. “You don’t want legislators taking their position because of personal intimidation.”

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430783