Netanyahu: Israel prepared to launch preemptive strike on Iran without US support

Prime minister unveils updated national security doctrine for first time in a decade. Amid fears of an Iranian attack, Netanyahu claims "The objectives I set do not depend on American approval." Netanyahu declares his goal is to topple the ayatollahs' regime: "90% of the job is done."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday that Israel was prepared to launch a preemptive strike against Iran even without US assistance. Presenting his updated national security doctrine for 2026, the first such presentation in a decade, Netanyahu identified a nuclear-armed Iran as Israel's greatest threat. "We are prepared to take the initiative," he said. "We must prevent the enemy from delivering the first blow." Against the backdrop of warnings of a possible Iranian attack, Netanyahu made clear that his objective was to topple the regime in Tehran, potentially even before Israel's upcoming elections on Oct. 27.

"The objectives I set do not depend on American approval. I always seek it, and we have also reached extraordinary understandings that people never believed were possible. But it has never been a precondition," Netanyahu said. "Our need to eliminate the nuclear threat and the broader threat posed by Iran, by the ayatollahs' regime, stands on its own. To the extent necessary, we will also act independently. We have done so before, and if necessary, we will do so again."

Netanyahu described confronting Iran as his "life's mission," warning that a single nuclear bomb could kill hundreds of thousands of people. He also noted that Iran was developing intercontinental ballistic missiles. According to Netanyahu, the regime could rebuild its nuclear and unconventional weapons programs, as well as its network of regional proxies.

"90% of the job is done," Netanyahu claimed, adding that the Iranian regime was killing and injuring tens of thousands of its own citizens to suppress protests. He said the economic crisis and the emergence of protests in the months following Operation Rising Lion, Israel's June 2025 military offensive against Iran, were signs of the regime's weakness. (Read More)