Netanyahu: ‘Great Victory’ Over Iran Can Spark New Mideast Peace

By Kamaran Aziz

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a wide-ranging interview on Sunday, described a recent conflict with Iran as a “great victory” that was necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and detailed the extensive cooperation with the United States under President Donald Trump, whom he has nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking with Mark Levin on the Fox News program “Life, Liberty & Levin,” Netanyahu said that Israel had to act against an Iranian regime that was rushing to develop nuclear weapons and tens of thousands of ballistic missiles. He likened the decision to “taking out two lumps of cancer,” acknowledging that while the threat could return, inaction would have been fatal for Israel.

“I knew that if we don't act now, we might never act again,” Netanyahu stated, adding the operation was named “Rising Lion” in a biblical reference to the people of Israel.

The prime minister detailed the personal stakes of the conflict, noting that cabinet ministers have sons fighting in Gaza. “It's not the politicians who are sitting in their ivory towers and sending other soldiers to the battlefield to fight and perhaps to die. It's totally different. This is a citizen's army,” he said.

He spoke of the “immeasurable pain” of loss, referencing his own brother who was killed in a battle against terrorism, and praised the support of his wife, Sarah, calling her a “lioness” who stood by him during turbulent times and “viciously attacked” character assassination.

Netanyahu asserted that prior to the conflict, Israel had delayed Iran's nuclear progress by about a decade through various disruptions, including taking out some of their scientists. He said that after Israel “smashed the Iran axis” by hitting Hamas, bringing Hezbollah “to its knees,” and collapsing the Assad regime, Iran’s only remaining path to destroying Israel was to “race for nuclear weapons.”

“We said within a year, they'd have an atomic bomb and they'd use it,” Netanyahu said. “We were not gonna let that happen.”

A significant portion of the interview was dedicated to the US-Israel alliance, with Netanyahu offering effusive praise for President Trump.

“We've never had a friend like him in the White House. That's an understatement,” Netanyahu said, describing Trump as someone who “cuts to the chase” and understands that Israel’s enemy is America’s enemy. He credited Trump for changing American policy to forge a “common victory” and praised the “tremendous decision” to use American B-2 pilots, which he said projected “American power and resolve around the world.”

Netanyahu confirmed he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing he deserves it for brokering the historic Abraham Accords between Israel and four Arab states, as well as for helping broker peace between Rwanda and the Congo, and between India and Pakistan. He added that Trump is working with him on expanding the Abraham Accords.

“Well, if anyone deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, it's President Trump […] He brokered with me the historic Abraham Accords in which Israel made peace with four Arab states. I think that deserves maybe four Nobel prizes for him,” he said.

Looking at the region, Netanyahu said the idea that new countries were seeking relations with Israel was an “understatement,” confirming there were “back channels, side channels, open channels, secret channels” of communication.

Subscribing to a “peace through strength” doctrine, he said he and Trump were working together on new possibilities. “I believe in open covenants secretly arrived at,” he added.

While optimistic, Netanyahu warned that vigilance is required as Iran’s "DNA" has not changed.

He noted that no other countries, including Russia, rushed to Iran's aid during the conflict. The prime minister laid out conditions for a potential future deal with a different Iranian regime: no nuclear enrichment, no ballistic missiles with a range beyond 300 miles, and no terror axis.

“Their [Iran] DNA is what you described. So, unless you get an exceptional deal, no enrichment, as President Trump and I say, no ballistic missiles, which could reach your shores, no ballistic missiles beyond what is allowed under international treaties. That is, 300 miles. And no terror axis. Give me these three. You know, it's a different regime if it agrees to it,” he detailed.

He concluded by suggesting the victory could usher in a new era for the region. “The Middle East with Israel and our Arab partners, the possibilities for economic cooperation, technological cooperation, energy cooperation, AI, tourism, trade. I mean, it's a different word,” Netanyahu said. “We've won a great victory, and that can produce terrific growth... but, you know, nothing is guaranteed unless you safeguard your success.”