Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted on Tuesday that Iran "definitely" possesses chemical weapons and stated the nation would "not care a whit about murdering hundreds of thousands of Americans if they could." He added that Tehran has demonstrated a willingness to kill its own citizens and would have "no compunction" about employing weapons of mass destruction.
Netanyahu's remarks come as the U.S. State Department has previously indicated that Tehran is not in compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. The department cited Iran's alleged development of pharmaceutical-based agents for offensive purposes and its failure to fully disclose past chemical weapons-related activities.
Military Operations and Nuclear Concerns
Netanyahu also referenced "Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury," which he said was undertaken by the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. military in late February. The stated goal of this operation was to "destroy the nuclear threat, or pushing it away, and also destroying a good chunk of their capacity to make ballistic missiles."
"If you give that regime the ability to have ballistic missiles that could reach ultimately the United States and they could arm it with nuclear weapons, then every single American would be in danger," Netanyahu explained, attributing the operation's initiation to President Trump's decisions for U.S. security.
He declared that the immediate threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons was pushed away, but cautioned, "it's not over. The jury's still out—I'm the first to say that."
Trust and International Agreements
When asked about a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Washington and Iran on June 17, Netanyahu expressed significant distrust of the Islamic Republic. "You can't trust them," he told Newsmax. "I don't know if there will be a deal... but as President Trump has pledged, that Iran, under no circumstances, would have nuclear weapons."
Netanyahu elaborated on his lack of faith, stating, "I personally would not trust Iran the length of this room, which is about three meters [10 feet] long. So, no, they're totally untrustworthy."