[By Guancha Observer Network, Wang Yi] According to The Times of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated in a Hebrew interview on the country's public broadcasting radio on the evening of the 19th that Israel's military operation against Iran was "completed ahead of schedule," and even exceeded expectations, preparing for further success. He also mentioned that former U.S. President Biden once tried to stop Israel, but he did not listen, and the current U.S. president "did not try to stop us."

"In terms of time and results, we are ahead of schedule," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel has destroyed at least half of Iran's missile launchers, eliminated key military leaders, and is targeting Iran's quasi-military forces and all nuclear facilities - including the heavily guarded Fordow nuclear facility. "The work is excellent."

Netanyahu also praised Israel's "resilience" under fire, comparing the Israeli people to the British during World War II who faced German bombings.

Netanyahu revealed that when Israel Defense Forces' series of operations last year made Iran's strongest proxy "beg for mercy," he had a plan to strike Iran, and it had become very obvious that Iran was accelerating its nuclear capabilities. He said that Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, was eliminated, Israel struck Hamas, "and what else does Iran have left after striking the Iranian axis?" "This operation has been planned for several months."

On June 19, local time, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu inspected the Soroka Medical Center which was attacked by Iran and gave an interview to the media. Visual China

In response to the issue of Israel's rapidly depleting air defense missiles, Netanyahu replied that the United States is replenishing Israel's ammunition, emphasizing that "we are attacking Iran's launchers; the number of their missiles doesn't matter, what matters is how many launchers they have." "We are close to our goal, I believe we have destroyed half of their launchers." The day before, the Israeli army stated that this figure was about 40%.

When asked if he was concerned about Iran's "unconventional weapons," Netanyahu said that the Israeli Defense Forces are "systematically" targeting all of Iran's weapons. He said that with or without American assistance, Israel will "achieve all goals, strike all of their nuclear facilities, and we have the ability to achieve this goal." The Fordow nuclear facility is buried underground, and it is widely believed that only America's giant bunker-buster bombs can destroy this facility.

On the 19th, White House press secretary Caroline Levett read out the latest statement from U.S. President Trump at a press conference, stating that new negotiations with Iran may be held "in the near future," and whether to join Israel's attack on Iran will be decided "within the next two weeks."

In response to this news, Netanyahu said, "Whether President Trump wants to join—this is entirely his decision," "He will do what is beneficial for the United States, and I will do what is beneficial for Israel," but added, "as the saying goes, every contribution is welcome."

Netanyahu refused to disclose specific details of his conversations with Trump, only saying, "I talk to him almost every day—very pleasant conversations."

One thing he could publicly discuss was that "the United States recognizes our right to defend ourselves from survival threats," and that the current U.S. president is different from the previous one, as Trump never "tried to stop us."

Netanyahu criticized Biden for trying to stop Israel's actions against Iran's proxies earlier, "He (Biden) issued an order, saying 'do not enter Gaza, do not enter Rafah.'" But Netanyahu resisted Biden's warning, saying, "I told him, 'Joe (Biden), I don't have a choice. You are the U.S. President, and I am the Israeli Prime Minister, we must do this,'" "This has already set a precedent: even if the U.S. President tries to stop us—he will not succeed."

"By the way, this time he did not try to stop us." Netanyahu specifically added for Trump.

Netanyahu also mentioned that during internal discussions over the past six months about this operation, some senior Israeli officials were anxious about not getting the "green light" from the United States. In response to this attitude, Netanyahu said, "We are not seeking the green light. We will do this regardless, because we have no other choice," "We will not let 3500 years of Jewish history end because of this mad Ayatollah."

The Times of Israel pointed out that Netanyahu was referring to Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he did not reveal whether assassination of Khamenei was considered, only emphasizing that regime change lies in "the Iranian people themselves."

However, Netanyahu previewed, "We are also targeting government objectives, symbols of the regime. You have seen it—radio stations and other targets, and more are coming."

He continued, "Israel also plans to target the Basij militia under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," "We are also targeting the Basij... this internal armed force of millions, we have caused significant damage and will continue to strike their targets."

In Netanyahu's view, Israel's progress in its conflict with Iran helps promote the release of hostages by Hamas. He claimed that the only real reason Israel has not stopped military operations in Gaza is due to the hostages, as "Hamas depends on Iran."

Netanyahu did not reveal the specific timeline for the strike on Iran, simply stating that the attacks on Iran "will be completed before the operation ends."

The Washington Post believes that Netanyahu temporarily escaped political difficulties through the strike on Iran, consolidating domestic status. However, analysts point out that to maintain public support, he must ensure obvious results from this operation and avoid being drawn into a long-term war, making future political impacts difficult to predict. The key lies in whether Israel can strategically succeed. Moreover, it is still unclear whether the United States will directly participate in this conflict.

This article is an exclusive article of the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7517935699133121024/

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