Israel is prepared to attack Iran without US participation if necessary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, pledging to overthrow Tehran’s government and make striking first a central principle of his security doctrine.
The declaration comes amid ongoing indirect negotiations over the war launched by the US and Israel in February. Israel, a major recipient of American military funding and weapons, has justified its offensives on security grounds, even as the conflict has spread across the region, disrupted Hormuz shipping, and driven up global energy prices.
Presenting his security doctrine in a speech on Sunday, Netanyahu argued that Iran would rebuild its nuclear and military capabilities as long as its government survived and made clear that Israel was prepared to launch further attacks without waiting for American participation.
“If we need to act alone, we will act alone,” he said.
Netanyahu presented Israel’s earlier campaign against Iran as a model, recalling that he told US President Donald Trump he would attack Tehran “either way” and invited American participation in a strike on the Fordow nuclear facility.
He framed further action against Iran as unfinished business, explicitly identifying the overthrow of the country’s government as the ultimate objective. “We are working on it and we will do it,” Netanyahu said.
Despite Tehran repeatedly stressing that its nuclear program is peaceful and denying seeking nuclear weapons, Netanyahu once again claimed that the US-Israeli attacks had prevented Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb intended to destroy Israel.
Netanyahu framed the renewed strikes as part of a broader doctrine prioritizing attack over defense. He compared striking first to gaining the advantage in childhood street fights and said Israel could establish bases far beyond its borders.
“We will have to live by our sword in order to live for many years,” he said.
He also described plans to seize and destroy what he called threat centers in the occupied West Bank, listed preventing Palestinian statehood as a fundamental principle, and included disrupting military and “civilian systems” in his deterrence strategy.
US-Iran negotiations are already deadlocked. Trump rejected Tehran’s proposal last month as “unacceptable,” insisting the US blockade had left Iran “losing so badly” and seeking a deal on Washington’s terms.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated on Saturday that normal shipping in the Strait of Hormuz could resume within seven days if Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions, including lifting the naval blockade, easing oil export restrictions, releasing frozen assets, and ending hostilities on all fronts, including Israel’s operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
Trump has nevertheless threatened renewed bombing, with Axios recently reporting that US officials expected major combat operations could resume after November’s midterm elections.
Tehran has warned that another attack would trigger broader retaliation, potentially targeting American technology infrastructure across the Gulf.
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