Netanyahu claims Iran ‘can’t enrich uranium’, denies dragging US into conflict

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium, while rejecting accusations that Israel pushed the United States into the widening conflict.

Speaking at his first English-language press conference since the start of the war, Netanyahu described major damage to Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities after nearly three weeks of hostilities.

In earlier remarks in Hebrew, he said Iran now has “no ability to enrich uranium, and no ability to produce ballistic missiles.”

However, he did not repeat that specific claim in English.

Netanyahu said Israeli and US forces were acting in close coordination and had significantly degraded Iran’s missile stockpiles, production facilities and command structures.

“Iran is being decimated,” Netanyahu said, adding that hundreds of missile launchers had been destroyed and that Iran’s air defenses and naval forces had been severely weakened.

He also dismissed suggestions that Israel had drawn Washington into the conflict, saying US President Donald Trump made independent decisions based on American interests.

“Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?” Netanyahu said. “Come on.”

The remarks come amid intensifying regional tensions following strikes on major energy infrastructure.

Trump said on Thursday the United States had no prior knowledge of an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s largest natural gas reserve shared with Qatar.

Iran has threatened retaliation against energy infrastructure across the region, including in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

State-owned QatarEnergy said missile strikes early Thursday hit several LNG facilities, causing fires and extensive damage.

In a separate update, Qatar Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said the missile attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City have reduced the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity by about 17% and could take up to five years to fully repair.

Trump warned Iran against further attacks on Gulf energy facilities, saying the United States would respond with overwhelming force if Qatar’s liquefied natural gas sites were targeted again.

Netanyahu said Iran’s actions, including threats to shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and attacks through regional proxies, posed a global risk.

He argued that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was essential not only for Israel and the United States but for international security.

“We’re not only fighting our fight,” he said. “We’re fighting their fight.”