The Iran war will end "when the Iranian regime falls, or weakens to such an extent that it understands that it must end its nuclear program," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a Sunday interview with Fox News.
Netanyahu insisted that Iran end its nuclear program "with or without a deal," noting that US-Israeli attacks against the Islamic regime had set the program back by "a good few years."
He added that an Iranian nuclear weapon would be a "mortal peril to every citizen in the United States," saying that Israel would "pursue all the means to prevent that" from happening.
He noted that the decision whether or not to renew major strikes on Iran was "in many ways" the decision of US President Donald Trump, warning that Tehran had the potential to rebuild sites and capabilities damaged or destroyed in the US-Israeli strikes.
“If Iran attacks Israel, either directly or through proxies, either with ballistic missiles or UAVs or killer drones, it will make a terrible mistake,” Netanyahu added. “Israel’s response will be very, very forceful.”
Netanyahu said he fully supports Trump's efforts against Iran, including if the US doesn't renew major strikes, further noting that Israel and the US "constantly" share intelligence on the Islamic Republic.
The prime minister added that he does "intend to come to New York" despite comments by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani saying he would not be welcome in the city. "I've appeared [at the United Nations] almost every year in my prime ministership," said Netanyahu.
Netanyahu: ICC chief used Israel to divert attention away from sexual harassment allegations
He also addressed the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him and other Israeli officials, noting that ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, "the one who promoted" the warrant, has since been "completely exposed as a criminal," referring to Khan's recent dismissal from the ICC over sexual harassment allegations against him.
Netanyahu argued that Khan had used Israeli war crime accusations as a method to divert attention away from his own criminal activities.
"On the day he [Khan] was going to visit Israel, he canceled everything, he called a news conference and accused me and the former defense minister of war crimes," said Netanyahu. "Now we've learned why."
He said that Mamdani had sourced his information from Khan, saying the mayor was "fomenting hate" through his arrest threats and war crime accusations.
"He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers," Netanyahu emphasized. "But he's trying to turn one group against the other."
Netanyahu pointed to the stabbing attack at a New York synagogue the day after Mamdani's comments, saying that he believes the connection between the two is not accidental.
"I think that it's shameful," he said. "I think this thing is very bad for New York; it is very bad for peace."
He added that New York Jews are "uncomfortable" given the antisemitism situation in the city.
"I think it's wrong, the whole thing is wrong," stressed Netanyahu. "He [Mamdani] celebrated the October 7 massacre."
He further accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas, despite the mayor trying to "say that he doesn't."
"They're the ones who are responsible for genocide," he said. "They would have killed every single Jew in Israel and every Jew in the world."
Recent developments with Lebanon 'positive,' Netanyahu says
Regarding the recent visit of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Washington, Netanyahu described developments with Lebanon as "positive," saying that Israelis and Lebanese are speaking to each other "directly," resulting in the deal recently signed between the two countries.
"The fact that this deal was put forward is a great advance," he stressed. "It shows that Hezbollah's ability to intimidate Lebanon's government and its president has been sharply reduced."
He noted that the Lebanese military's ability to clear certain areas of Hezbollah terrorists "remains to be seen," but that Israel is willing to "give it [the agreement] a try."
Netanyahu also addressed the US-Saudi nuclear deal, saying that Trump was "absolutely right" in conditioning the deal on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords.