From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Laughing off notion that he’s dragging Trump into war, Netanyahu insists that it’ll be quick
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies that the US and Israel are engaging in an “endless war” against Iran, insisting that the operation will end quickly.
“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, Netanyahu tells Fox News in an interview.
“This is going to be a quick and decisive action,” he asserts.
Netanyahu says that the US and Israeli strikes will create the conditions for regime change in Iran.
US officials have given mixed messages regarding whether regime change is the goal, though. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier that it isn’t and that neutralizing the Iranian missile, navy and nuclear threats is.
Netanyahu says 95% of the problems in the Middle East are generated by Iran and that the fall of the regime would lead to a flood of peace deals between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors.
He maintains that the joint US-Israeli operations will “usher in an era of peace that we haven’t even dreamed of.”
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the US launched Operation Epic Fury because Israel was going to carry out a preemptive strike against Iran and US intelligence indicated that Tehran would respond by targeting American assets in the region.
The remark further intensified criticism of the administration that Israel has dragged the US into a war with Iran.
Asked to respond to the claim, Netanyahu laughed it off.
“That’s ridiculous. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America. He does also what he thinks is right for future generations,” Netanyahu says, arguing that the US president understands on his own the threats posed by Iran.
Netanyahu spends much of his time in the interview praising Trump, who urged his followers to tune in to Fox News ahead of time and was ostensibly watching himself.
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