‘As long as I am prime minister’: Netanyahu vows Iran will never get a nuclear weapon

Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon under his watch, regardless of the outcome of ongoing United States (US)-Iran negotiations.

Speaking at the Jerusalem News Syndicate’s (JNS) International Policy Summit 2026 on Sunday, Netanyahu said, “No matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement or without an agreement, I pledge to you that Iran, as long as I am Prime Minister of Israel, will never have a nuclear weapon. Never. As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, I will not let that happen.”

He claimed that Israeli military operations had already dealt a significant blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “We destroyed Iran’s nuclear infrastructure,” he said, adding that without Operations Rising Lion and Roaring Lion, Iran would have had atomic bombs by now. “And let me tell you something, they would have used them. That’s what we prevented,” he claimed.

Netanyahu also spoke about Israeli military cooperation with the United States. “Together with our American friends, the American Air Force and the American military, we carried out the largest air strike in our history,” he noted.

On Lebanon, Netanyahu maintained that Israeli forces will not withdraw from the “security zone” while referring to land it has illegally occupied in the south. “As long as we need to protect our people, we will remain in the security zone in South Lebanon,” he said, adding that no country would be asked to do otherwise.

He claimed that Israel’s conflict was with Hezbollah and not Lebanon as a state. “We don’t have a war with Lebanon. We have a war with Hezbollah who terrorises Lebanon and seeks our destruction. And when that proxy of Iran is no longer a threat, whether it’s dismantled or disarmed, yes, we’ll have peace with Lebanon and I look forward to signing it,” he added.

Netanyahu’s remarks came as the first round of US-Iran technical talks in Switzerland, with discussions covering the Lebanon ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz and aspects of a potential nuclear agreement.