Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday morning, thanking US President Donald Trump for bringing “peace through strength.”
“President Trump and I often say peace through strength. First comes strength, then comes peace. And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength,” he said in an English-language statement.
The premier called the US “truly unsurpassed” in its strikes on Iran, adding that Trump’s “leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace.”
“President Trump, I thank you. The people of Israel thank you. The forces of civilization thank you,” he continued.
Trump announced early Sunday that the US military bombed Iran’s Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. He said the strikes aimed only to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment activities, adding, “Now is the time for peace.”
Netanyahu hours later posted a Hebrew-language statement saying the US operation was conducted in “full coordination” with the IDF.
In the days leading up to the attack, Trump sent mixed messages on whether or not he would strike Iran.
The president announced Thursday night he would make his decision within two weeks pending a potential diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran. The announcement reportedly frustrated Israeli officials, who had believed American intervention in the war was imminent.
The US strikes received across-the-board support from Israeli politicians in both the coalition and opposition.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid thanked Trump for the strikes, which, he said, prevented a “nuclear arms race in the Middle East.”
“This night is a historic night for the entire Middle East. Thank you to President Trump. Thank you to the US. A nuclear Iran is a threat to the entire world. Tonight, a nuclear arms race in the Middle East was averted,” he said in a statement.
Similarly, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz said Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities “makes the world, the Middle East and Israel safer places today.”
He expressed his “profound appreciation” for America’s “clear stand with Israel throughout this campaign and tonight particularly against the Iranian regime,” in a post on X, written in English.
Senior coalition officials also rejoiced over the strikes, heaping thanks on both Trump and Netanyahu for the operation.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that “this morning, the world is a better and safer world. For Israel and the entire world.”
“Thank you to the Lord of the Universe. Thank you to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Ron Dermer, who have been working together resolutely for 25 years for this moment… Thank you to President Trump, who shows true leadership and commitment to the State of Israel and world peace,” Smotrich said. He also warned that despite Jerusalem and Washington’s military successes, “the war is not over.”
Trump’s and Netanyahu’s actions “will be remembered for generations as those that literally saved us all from the threat of terrorism and destruction from Iran,” declared Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana likewise welcomed American military intervention in an English-language post, rejoicing that “President Trump didn’t wait for another Pearl Harbor to confront the forces of darkness.”
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is one of the 53 hostages still held by Hamas, tweeted that, following the strike on Iran, the time had come to end the war in Gaza.
“Now we can return the hostages from captivity,” she wrote. “Now we can return to life and restore it. Now the dead can be returned for a proper burial. Now we can end the war in Gaza. The time is ripe. Now.”
Hostages’ family members have lamented that the campaign in Iran, starting June 13 with Israel airstrikes on various sites in the Islamic Republic, has drawn attention away from their loved ones.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 53 of the hostages taken on October 7, 2013, including the bodies of at least 31 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.