WATCH: Netanyahu at JNS Conference: “We Set Iran Back a Decade, But Didn’t Stop Them”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this week at the JNS International Policy Conference, addressing the ongoing threat of a nuclear Iran. He claimed that were it not for covert operations led by his governments over the years, Iran would now possess a nuclear arsenal.

“The reason Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons is because the governments under my leadership as Prime Minister carried out ongoing operations over the years — operations I won’t discuss here today,” Netanyahu stated. “These actions delayed them by about ten years from where they thought they’d be. A decade ago, they believed they would have a nuclear arsenal. They don’t.”

However, he made it clear that Iran has not abandoned its ambitions: “We delayed them, but we did not stop them. They’ve made significant progress in uranium enrichment. They’re working to advance their weapons program.”

The Prime Minister expressed cautious optimism about the current U.S. administration’s stance: “We have a President in Washington who is committed — as he says, and as he has told me many times, including just recently: ‘We cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.’”

Netanyahu emphasized that the only viable solution is dismantling Iran’s capabilities: “A successful deal is one that removes Iran’s ability to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. That means dismantling the centrifuges, removing the enriched nuclear material, and taking additional steps — but that’s the core.”