Netanyahu Vows to Block Iran’s Nuclear Revival and Slams Opposition Over Islamist Ties

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Monday that Israel will not allow Iran to rebuild its nuclear or ballistic missile programs, reaffirming his commitment to national security while launching a sharp attack on the opposition during a heated Knesset debate.

Netanyahu, addressing lawmakers in Jerusalem, said Israel’s recent Operation Rising Lion had inflicted heavy damage on Iran’s military infrastructure and warned Tehran against attempting to rebuild. “Our position is zero enrichment capability, the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran, and continuous oversight of nuclear facilities,” he stated.

He emphasized the unity of purpose between Israel and the United States, following his recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida. “We will not allow Iran to rebuild its ballistic-missile industry or renew the nuclear program that we severely damaged,” Netanyahu declared.

Turning to internal politics, Netanyahu accused the opposition of attempting to form a government “with the Muslim Brotherhood,” referencing past partnerships with Ra’am, an Arab party previously included in the Bennett-Lapid coalition. “Do not speak in the name of the Zionist majority,” he said. “You are the ones who relied on and seek to rely on the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The Knesset debate, initiated by the opposition under the title “Extremist government that acts contrary to the Zionist majority,” quickly became a forum for broader clashes over Israel’s direction, national unity, and defense policies.

Netanyahu highlighted the Israeli economy’s resilience during two years of war, citing a strengthening shekel, a surging stock market, and increased high-tech investment. “The war indeed challenged us, but I always said that when we win, the economy will grow significantly and that is exactly what is happening now,” he said, noting that The Economist ranked Israel’s economy among the world’s top three.

He also praised a newly signed gas deal with Egypt worth 60 billion shekels and defended his government’s proposed ultra-Orthodox draft bill, calling it a “historic” effort to boost haredi enlistment. Netanyahu claimed the opposition’s real fear was that the bill would succeed. “You want to recruit them to your political campaign,” he said. “We want to recruit haredim to the IDF.”

The draft law remains a flashpoint. Critics argue it fails to enforce conscription and instead panders to political interests. The IDF, grappling with manpower shortages, has called for urgent reform. Meanwhile, remarks by United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf comparing IDF service requirements to the Holocaust's yellow star provoked outrage.

Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz fiercely rebutted Netanyahu’s stance, warning that bereaved families were watching in anguish as the coalition negotiated exemptions for haredim. “How did people who compare sanctions against IDF draft-dodging to the yellow badge Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust become your natural partners?” Gantz asked.

Netanyahu closed by defending the government’s push for a politically appointed commission to investigate the failures surrounding the October 7 massacre rejecting calls for an independent state commission despite public support and pleas from victims’ families.

In his view, the most important government decision wasn’t political, but existential “The strike against Iran removed two threats to our very existence the nuclear threat and the threat of tens of thousands of ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s security, he argued, must remain above political games.

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