Prime Minister Netanyahu told the IDF officer course graduation at Bahad 1 on Thursday evening that Israel has removed the immediate existential threat from Iran's nuclear program, declaring 'only a blind man says no achievements.' He vowed to maintain the buffer zone in southern Lebanon and said Israel eliminated senior Hamas architect Al-Haddad weeks ago with no retaliation.
Prime Minister Netanyahu escalated his claims at the IDF officer course graduation at Bahad 1 on Thursday evening, asserting that Israel has 'crushed' the existential threat from Iran's nuclear program and revealing the killing of a senior Hamas commander weeks ago. The speech, which The Zioneer first reported in a preliminary summary at 20:04 Jerusalem time, added a new declarative layer to a thread we have tracked since 18:42.
The thread began at 18:42 Jerusalem, when three consecutive bulletins recorded Netanyahu's initial message: a pledge to stay in the Lebanese buffer zone and a vow that Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons under his watch (version 1, 18:42). By version 2 (also 18:42), the audience's mixed reaction — applause and jeers — was noted alongside those pledges. A third version (18:42) carried the bolder headline that 'with or without a deal, Iran will not get nuclear weapons.' The current update, reported at 20:09, marks a further escalation: Netanyahu now claims not merely prevention but the removal of the immediate nuclear threat, and names the killing of Ez al-Din al-Haddad, a commander in Hamas's military wing, as a confirmed achievement with no retaliation. The Zioneer's background context includes a concurrent event: Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking at the same graduation at 18:57 Jerusalem, vowed indefinite IDF presence in buffer zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.
As The Zioneer reported on June 8 and June 15, Netanyahu has consistently framed the multi-front campaign as existential, using terms like 'breaking the barrier of fear' and 'removing the threat of annihilation.' At the graduation, he compared the current war to 1948, acknowledged U.S. pressure — including an arms halt — and vowed: 'If we have to, we will fight with our fingernails.' The operations he cited, 'With a Lion' and 'Roaring Lion,' have not been independently verified by The Zioneer in this thread as distinct military campaigns.
What remains open: Netanyahu's claim that Iran's nuclear threat is 'crushed' is a political assertion, not an independent assessment; no intelligence or military confirmation was cited. The killing of al-Haddad, while attributed by the Prime Minister, has not been corroborated by a second source in the thread. The broader operational results he cites — over 60% of Gaza under Israeli control — also await independent verification beyond the Prime Minister's Office text.
4 developments
- StrongNetanyahu: Israel eliminated nuclear threat, will respond forcefully if Iran attacks
- DevelopingNetanyahu says Israel and US removed 'immediate' nuclear threat, 'saved state from annihilation'
- StrongNetanyahu: IDF controls nearly 70% of Gaza Strip; vows no withdrawal from Lebanon buffer zone
- StrongNetanyahu: Iran will not get nuclear weapons — with or without a deal
Source and signal
- Internal intake