Iranian regime is ‘unreformable,’ people must ‘take control of their destiny’, PM Netanyahu tells Fox News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the timeliness for action on Iran in an interview with Fox News on Monday evening, warning: "If no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future.” 

"After we hit their nuclear sites and their ballistic missiles program, you’d think they learned a lesson, but they didn’t because they’re unreformable,” Netanyahu added.

"They’re totally fanatic about this – about the goal of destroying America. So, they started building new sites and new places, underground bunkers that would make their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months."

Netanyahu went on to stress that "if no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future, and then they could target America. They could blackmail America. They could threaten us and threaten everyone in between.”

Pursuing a quick and decisive end to the war for regional stability

“I hear the people are saying you’re going to have an endless war here. You’re not going to have an endless war,” the prime minister affirmed, adding that the terror regime in Iran is at the weakest point it has ever been.

“This is going to be a quick and decisive action, and we’re going to create the conditions first for the Iranian people to get control of their destiny,” he said.

"95% of all the problems you see in the Middle East are generated by Iran,” Netanyahu stated. “When you let the people of Iran have the opportunity to act to liberate themselves and free themselves from the yoke of this terror machine, you get a different future. I think that will open up the way for many peace treaties with other Arab countries, with Muslim countries."

NEW: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells @seanhannity that Iran's "ballistic missile program and atomic bomb program" would have soon been "immune" to attack without Operation Epic Fury: "Action had to be taken, and you needed the resolute President like Donald J.… pic.twitter.com/YGJysdeFl1

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He continued: “We are creating – America and Israel together are creating – the conditions for ​them to do so. This is not an endless war. This is, in fact, something that will usher in an era of peace.”

On Trump's leadership and claims that he was dragged into conflict

Regarding the claim that he dragged Trump into this war, the prime minister responded: “That’s ridiculous! Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America. He does also what he thinks is right for future generations.” 

"We're fighting the bad guys. We're the good guys. These people massacre their own people. Imagine what they would do – these people would chant ‘death to America’ – if they had ballistic missiles and the nuclear warheads to deliver to every American city,” he said.

“Iran is 50 North Korea's. Iran is committed to your destruction. And whether people understand it or not, the leader has to understand it. Donald Trump understands it. You don't have to drag him into anything. (...) He does what he thinks is right, and this is right," he explained.

Netanyahu said he believes peace with Saudi Arabia will be “very close” after the fall of the regime in Iran: “Saudi Arabia will have a lot to gain. I think all these countries around Iran are threatened by Iran. I think they want to see this regime go down.”

A race against Iran's nuclear immunity

Adding that Iran has been chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” for 47 years, Netanyahu said: "They bombed your embassies. They tried to assassinate Donald Trump, the President of the United States, twice. They murdered their own people; they massacred so many. And they spread a worldwide web of terror."

"This is a regime committed to destroying the United States of America," he affirmed. “Action had to be taken. And you needed a resolute president like Donald J. Trump to take that action,” Netanyahu said, warning that otherwise Iran would have “immunity from future action.”

Praising Trump, the prime minister said that when America and Israel work together, “amazing things happen,” but “it wouldn't happen without the leadership of President Trump.”

He noted that prior to Trump’s second inauguration, the two met in Mar-a-Lago, where Trump addressed the topic: “The first thing that Donald Trump said to me, he said, you know, we have to prevent Iran from getting nukes.,” Netanyahu explained. “He said that because he saw that as a clear and present danger to the security and well-being of the United States.”

“To have a regime like that, that plans to eradicate the United States, have the weapons of mass death, would have been the greatest threat that America would face in the coming decades," he said.

From failed diplomacy to a common defense

“We tried, first, to take them out in Operation Midnight Hammer," said Netanyahu, adding, “they didn’t learn the lesson, he [Trump] tried to get negotiations. He negotiated with them. They didn't get it. They tried to string him along. So action had to be taken, and we took it."

“It’s high time that the people of the free societies understood that they have to act to protect their freedom,” stressing that America entered this fight “to protect our common future.”

Netanyahu addressed his long-standing warnings about Iran's nuclear program, stating, "I have spoken about it for decades, and I tried to persuade successive American administrations to take firm action. And President Trump, in his first term, did: he got out of the disastrous Iran deal right off the bat.”

He characterized the Iranian regime as a “death cult” and said he has “worked with several presidents.” He noted that “there has never been a president like Donald J. Trump” before adding, “We’re very lucky to have him.”

Earlier on Monday night, several barrages of missiles were launched from Iran toward locations across the country. Interception debris fell in Petah Tikva and in northern Israel, but no injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, the U.S. instructed its citizens across several Middle Eastern nations to depart immediately for their safety. The list of countries includes Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Authority territories, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a briefing on Monday for congressional leaders in which he touched on the conflict in Iran. Upon its conclusion, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that the war would be limited “in scope and objectives,” and that prior congressional approval was unnecessary, as the action was a defensive measure against Iran and not a declaration of war.