“Tehran was building new underground sites to shield its missile and nuclear programmes from attacks”
PTI
Jerusalem, Updated At : 03:51 PM Mar 03, 2026 IST
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the US struck Iran because Tehran had restarted its nuclear programme and, within months, it would have been “immune.”
Netanyahu told Fox News the attack was urgent because Iran was constructing new underground sites to protect its ballistic missile and atomic programmes from strikes.
“They started building new sites, new places, underground bunkers that would make their ballistic missile programme and their atomic bomb programme immune within months. If no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future,” he said.
He repeated that after Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear and missile sites during the 12-day war in June, Iran began building those new underground facilities, which would have rendered future attacks ineffective.
His remarks contrast with claims last year by Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump that Israel had “achieved a historic victory” and that Iran’s nuclear programme had been “obliterated.” Critics suggested Iran may have moved or secured enriched uranium before the bombings.
Netanyahu denied the US and Israel were engaged in an “endless war,” insisting the operation would be swift. “I hear people are telling you that you’re going to have an endless war here – You’re not going to have an endless war because… this terror regime in Iran is at its weakest point” since its founding, he said. “This is going to be a quick and decisive action.”
He argued the joint strikes would create conditions for regime change in Iran, claiming “95 per cent” of problems in the Middle East are generated by Iran and that the regime’s fall would lead to many peace deals between Israel and Arab and Muslim neighbours. The operations, he said, would “usher in an era of peace that we haven’t even dreamed of.”
Responding to accusations that Israel had dragged the US into the conflict, Netanyahu rejected the criticism. “That’s ridiculous. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America. He also does what he thinks is right for future generations,” Netanyahu said, asserting the US president understands the threats posed by the Islamic Republic.
