Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared the conflict with Iran will persist as long as the country maintains highly enriched uranium and active enrichment sites, signaling a hardening stance even as diplomatic efforts continue on multiple fronts.
In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, Netanyahu laid out a stark condition for ending hostilities: the removal of Iran's uranium stockpile and the dismantling of its enrichment facilities. When asked specifically how that material should be extracted, he offered a blunt answer: "You go in and you take it out."
Netanyahu indicated that US President Donald Trump shares this view, claiming Trump has told him he wants "to go in there" to secure the fissile material. The Israeli leader suggested the best path would be reaching an agreement that includes direct access to Iran's nuclear sites for removal operations.
The rhetoric comes as fragile diplomatic channels remain open. Iran has responded to a US peace proposal that was presented last week, with Pakistani mediators serving as the intermediary. Pakistan confirmed it forwarded the Iranian response to Washington, though details of what Tehran said remain undisclosed.
The US proposal, described as a one-page 14-point memorandum, reportedly aims to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while establishing a framework for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The proposal emerged roughly a month into a ceasefire that has shown signs of strain, marked by drone strikes across the region and heated rhetoric from Israeli leadership.
The standoff underscores the tension between escalating military posturing and ongoing attempts at negotiation. Netanyahu's insistence that the war continues until Iran's nuclear capability is neutralized appears designed to maintain pressure on both Tehran and Washington to accept Israeli terms, even as talks theoretically progress.
Author James Rodriguez: "Netanyahu is essentially serving notice that no ceasefire holds unless Iran gives up its nuclear material, which makes any lasting peace deal exponentially harder to achieve."
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