Netanyahu says building ‘new alliances with important countries’ in West Asia amid Iran war –

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised what he called “tremendous achievements” in the war against Iran, and said on Tuesday that the joint Israeli-American effort weakens Tehran while removing major threats to Israel’s security.In a speech in Hebrew before Passover, Netanyahu said the Iranian regime would collapse “sooner or later” and that Israel was building “new alliances with important countries in the region” to confront Tehran.

He did not name the countries but said he hoped “soon I will be able to tell you more about these vital alliances.”Netanyahu said: “On the eve of this festival of freedom, Israel is stronger than ever. The whole world hears the roar of our lion in our struggle against the evil regime in Iran, a struggle in which we have achieved tremendous and tremendous achievements.”The speech came at a time when Israel mourns four soldiers killed in ground operations in Lebanon. Netanyahu said the gains came with “painful costs.”He said: “On the occasion of the one-month anniversary of our joint campaign with the United States, we are systematically crushing the terrorist regime that has been screaming for decades: ‘Death to America, death to Israel’… The Ayatollah regime has made a tremendous effort to annihilate us, control the Middle East, and threaten the entire world.”

“I have tried to advance these murderous ambitions by developing nuclear and ballistic missile programs, financing and arming terrorist proxies around us, and bypassing the severe sanctions imposed on them,” Netanyahu said.He said that Iran’s long-term spending on its military ambitions had achieved little.“Now, I want to tell you. Over the years, all of this has cost Iran nearly a trillion dollars. Now we can say that.

He said that this trillion was wasted.Relying on Passover images, Netanyahu said that Israel had repeatedly struck its opponents.“We have dealt ten strikes against the axis of evil,” including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, groups in Judea and Samaria, the Houthis in Yemen, and multiple targets inside Iran.Among the measures against Iran, he cited attacks on “their nuclear program, their missiles, the regime’s infrastructure, the forces of repression, and the ‘plague of the firstborn,’ or in our case, the strike against the senior leadership.”Netanyahu said: “From the tyrant Khamenei, to the nuclear scientists, to the main killers in the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij, not to mention Nasrallah, Haniyeh, Deif, Sinwar, and many others.”He said that Iran is now “weaker than ever” while Israel is “stronger than ever,” but added that the war is not over yet.Netanyahu also said global attitudes toward Iran are changing, with some leaders privately acknowledging the threat.“I spoke with leaders in the Middle East secretly and in public meetings. I spoke with leaders in Europe. I also spoke with leaders in the United States, with American presidents. They did not understand the danger. Today, there is no one who does not understand the extent of the threat. There are those who say to me in private conversations: ‘Oh Prime Minister, we understand. “We are afraid to say it, but we understand.” And there are those who say so.

“We understand, and thank God they are acting too.”Emphasizing relations with Washington, Netanyahu said that the joint efforts had dealt “crushing blows” to Iran, leaving the regime “shaken” and indicating that it was “destined to fall.”He said that the Israeli operations “Rising Lion” last year and the ongoing operation “Visiting Lion” led to a significant deterioration in Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.Some analysts interpreted the speech as laying the groundwork for a possible American decision to end the war without a formal agreement.US President Donald Trump recently hinted that the conflict may end soon, indicating that Washington could stop the war after achieving its goals.Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu’s speech as “arrogant” and accused him of only achieving one thing, which was “dismantling us from within.”Lapid linked his criticism to the government’s latest budget and the passage of a controversial death penalty bill.