Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Releases Assertion On U.S. And Israel’s Joint Strikes On Iran
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has released his first statement since the United States and Israel conducted joint strikes against Iran.
Netanyahu’s statement came just minutes after President Trump announced the United States had conducted combat operations in Iran.
In Netanyahu’s statement, he said the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran to eliminate the existential threat posed by Iran’s leaders.
He went on to thank President Trump for his leadership.
The Times of Israel provided a full transcript of Netanyahu’s statement:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a video message in Hebrew after Israel and the US launched a wave of strikes against Iran, saying the operation was launched “to remove the existential threat” posed by the Islamic Republic, and “create the conditions” for Iranians to change their destiny.
“My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short while ago Israel and the United States launched an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terror regime in Iran,” he says.
“I thank our great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership,” he adds.
“For 47 years, the Ayatollah regime has called out ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’ It has shed our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people,” Netanyahu continues.
“This murderous terror regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity,” he says, adding: “Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”
“The time has come for all parts of the Iranian people — the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baloch, and the Ahwazi — to cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-seeking Iran.”
“I call upon you, citizens of Israel, to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command. In the coming days, during Operation ‘Roar of the Lion,’ we will all be required to show patience and inner strength,” he says.
“Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will ensure the future of Israel,” he adds.
אחיי ואחיותיי אזרחי ישראל, לפני שעה קלה יצאנו ישראל וארה״ב למבצע להסרת האיום הקיומי מצד משטר הטרור באיראן.
אני מודה לידידינו הגדול הנשיא דונלד טראמפ על מנהיגותו ההיסטורית.
במשך 47 שנים קורא משטר האייתוללות ״מוות לישראל״, ״מוות לאמריקה״. הוא הקיז את דמינו, רצח אמריקנים רבים וטבח… pic.twitter.com/itTF5b4jB4
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 28, 2026
Here’s a video of smoke arising in Tehran from a strike:
Iranian women talk about the Supreme Leader’s headquarters was hit.
The excitement in their voices says it all! pic.twitter.com/VP293WZnlG
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) February 28, 2026
The New York Times provided the latest details on the ongoing strikes:
President Trump announced on Saturday that the United States had launched a major attack on Iran as he vowed to devastate the country’s military, eliminate its nuclear program and bring about a change in its government.
Massive explosions resounded in the Iranian capital, Tehran, while residents reported seeing smoke rising from the district where the presidential palace and the National Security Council are.
Israel also announced that it had begun its own attack on Iran on Saturday morning in coordination with the United States. Iranian state television announced that Iran’s armed forces were preparing to retaliate.
Mr. Trump, in a video announcing “major combat operations,” vowed to “raze their missile industry to the ground” and “annihilate their navy,” arguing that Iran had refused to reach a deal with the United States that would have averted war. He then called on Iranians to overthrow their government when the U.S. military operation came to an end. “It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generation,” he said.
U.S. officials say they expect the latest strikes to be far more extensive than the American attack last June, which targeted three separate Iranian nuclear facilities. Dozens of U.S. strikes are being carried out by attack planes from bases and aircraft carriers around the Middle East, one of the U.S. officials said.