Netanyahu says fall of Iran’s regime not assured, appears to acknowledge failure to foresee Hormuz standoff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to admit neither Israel nor the US foresaw the effective use Iran would make of its control of the Hormuz Strait before the recent war began.

“I don’t claim perfect foresight, and nobody had perfect foresight. Neither did the Iranians,” Netanyahu tells CBS’s “60 Minutes,” after being asked about a New York Times report that he had predicted that Tehran would be too weakened by the US-Israeli airstrikes to choke off the strategic waterway.

“I don't claim perfect foresight, and nobody had perfect foresight. Neither did the Iranians,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says of the war with Iran. https://t.co/lJij1qmTwz pic.twitter.com/lbyZ6BAAmM

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

Netanyahu is also asked about a New York Times report that he had told a situation room on February 11 that a joint Israeli-American operation could collapse the Islamic Republic.

The premier calls that “false” but goes on to note that he merely didn’t note that outcome as definitive. “We both agreed that there was uncertainty and risk involved,” Netanyahu says, quoting US President Donald Trump as having said that there is danger in action but bigger danger in not acting.

Asked if it is possible to topple the Iranian regime, Netanyahu says: “I think that you can’t predict when that happens. Is it possible? Yes. Is it guaranteed? No. But I can tell you it’s like bankruptcy, you know? It… proceeds gradually and then it falls.”

The premier says he doesn’t know when or if the Iranian regime will fall, but says that if that happens, it would mean the end of its network of proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, since it is the “scaffolding” keeping them afloat.

“If this [Iranian] regime is indeed weakened or possibly toppled, I think it's the end of Hezbollah, it's the end of Hamas, it's probably the end of the Houthis,” says Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He says it's possible to topple the Iranian regime, but it's not guaranteed.… pic.twitter.com/sIT3jWFMKg

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

In the interview, Netanyahu also says he intends to wean Israel off all US military aid within a decade, repeating remarks he told The Economist earlier this year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells 60 Minutes he wants Israel to eventually stop relying on U.S. military aid: “It's time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support.” https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/LIwJKrfMOQ

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026