Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphatically declared that Iran can only be trusted in one respect: they systematically lie and deceive
During a blunt speech in Jerusalem, given at the annual meeting of leaders of American Jewish organizations, he made clear his deep distrust of any nuclear deal that may be negotiated with Tehran.
For Netanyahu, a genuine agreement cannot be limited to temporary pauses or partial limits on uranium enrichment.
It demands much more rigorous and definitive conditions: all nuclear material already enriched must be removed from Iranian territory, all infrastructure and equipment dedicated to enrichment must be completely dismantled, the ballistic missile program must be effectively contained and the so-called “axis of terror” – the network of armed influence that Iran maintains in several countries in the region – must be completely dismantled.
In his view, temporary promises or restrictions are not enough; the Iranian nuclear program must be irreversibly ended.
He recommended that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, adopt Ronald Reagan’s classic motto: “trust, but verify” – or, in practice, always suspect and confirm everything.
Netanyahu argues that Iran’s record repeatedly demonstrates transparent commitments to international commitments.
The statement came shortly after a meeting between him and Trump in Washington and shortly before new rounds of talks between Americans and Iranians in Geneva, as the United States increases its military presence in the region.
Netanyahu also addressed the situation in Gaza, defending the continuity of the peace plan proposed by Trump.
He reiterated that Hamas needs to be disarmed, handing over the hundreds of thousands of rifles used in the October 7, 2023 attack, and that Israel must complete the destruction of the extensive network of structural tunnels – much of which has already been eliminated.
According to him, the plan is being implemented in the most restrained way possible, but the objective will be achieved in any way, whether “by the easy path or the difficult path”.
Even after two years of war, the first highlighted Israel’s resilience and vigor.
He cited an analysis by “The Economist” magazine that positions the country as the third most dynamic economy among OECD members, with the stock market reaching historic records and the shekel appreciating against the dollar.
Netanyahu also questions the strengthening of relations with Latin American nations, such as Argentina under Javier Milei, the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israel’s leadership role in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies, always in strategic partnership with the United States.
For him, Israel is leaving the conflict stronger than it entered – militarily, economically and technologically – and plans to become even more powerful in the years ahead.
Published in 02/16/2026 08h16
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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