Netanyahu: War with Iran not over, enriched uranium must be ‘taken out’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the war with Iran is not over as there remains enriched uranium in Iran’s possession that “has to be taken out” of the country, and broader “work to be done” against its military capabilities.

“I think [the war] accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over because there’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran,” Netanyahu tells the CBS newsmagazine program “60 Minutes.”

“There are still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled. There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we’ve degraded a lot of it, but all that is still there, and there’s work to be done,” Netanyahu says in a clip previewed from the interview, which will air in full later tonight.

Netanyahu does not initially specify whether he refers only to Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched near-weapons-grade uranium — believed to be buried underground in Isfahan — or its full supply of enriched uranium. But when asked how the highly enriched material should be removed, he responds, “You go in, and you take it out.”

“I think it accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells 60 Minutes about the war in Iran. Netanyahu says highly enriched uranium must be removed from Iran and believes “it can be done physically.” pic.twitter.com/N5XbvzpYa0

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

Netanyahu suggests the uranium can be physically removed with or without an agreement with Tehran, and that the US is on board with either option, though he declines to discuss any military plans or timeline for such an operation.

“What [US] President [Donald] Trump has said to me: ‘I wanna go in there.’ And I think it can be done physically. That’s not the problem. If you have an agreement and you go in and you take it out, why not? That’s the best way,” he says.

Asked if it can be taken out by force if no agreement is reached, Netanyahu replies, “Well, you’re gonna ask me these questions, I’m gonna dodge them, because I’m not gonna talk about our military possibilities… I’m not gonna give a timetable to it, but I’m gonna say that’s a terrifically important mission.”