OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
3:53 PM – Thursday, March 19, 2026
Addressing a press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the sustained aerial campaign by Israel and the United States has stripped Iran of its ability to both enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles.
Marking the 20th day of the conflict, Netanyahu expressed high confidence in the campaign’s trajectory, asserting on Thursday in Jerusalem that joint U.S.-Israeli operations maintain a decisive tactical advantage.
“We are winning, and Iran is being decimated,” Netanyahu announced. “What we’re destroying now are the factories that produce the components to make these missiles and to make the nuclear weapons that they’re trying to produce.”
“Khamenei ordered the renewal of missile and nuclear programs and to bury them deep underground,” he stated, referring to the country’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “We are acting not only to destroy the remaining missiles — few remain — but to destroy the industries that enable the production of these programs, and already now after 20 days — I can announce to you that Iran has no ability to enrich uranium and has no ability to produce ballistic missiles,” he continued.
Iran’s nuclear program was the focus of the strikes that began in Tehran, its capital city, on February 28th. The U.S. labeled the operation “Operation Epic Fury,” while Israel labeled it “Operation Roaring Lion.”
Iran’s leader, Khamenei, was confirmed dead less than 24 hours after the attacks, along with dozens of members of his Islamic regime. Trump released a video on the same day, warning the Iranian people to stay sheltered as combat continued, but to eventually “take over” their government, emphasizing that it may be their only chance at freedom.
Meanwhile, looking toward the post-conflict landscape, the prime minister also expressed that the task of national reconstruction and political determination will ultimately fall to the people.
“It’s up to the Iranian people to show that, to choose the moment and to rise to the moment,” Bibi said.
Netanyahu then moved to dismiss allegations that he had manipulated the United States into joining the conflict. “Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?,” the Israeli PM remarked.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed that the operation’s timing was driven by the reality of an “imminent,” independent Israeli strike — one that would have inevitably drawn a retaliatory response against the U.S. and American interests.
According to Rubio, U.S. intelligence assessed that Iran would undoubtedly retaliate against American forces and assets in the region regardless, leading to higher American casualties if the U.S. had waited. Therefore, the U.S. chose preemptive strikes, in coordination with Israel, to mitigate that risk and protect American interests.
In his primary address on Truth Social, at the very start of the conflict, Trump announced that the objective of the military campaign was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats.” At the time, the president added that he had a “good feeling” that Iran was planning a major attack on U.S. assets and personnel — backing up Rubio’s statement.
Netanyahu asserted that President Trump and him both “see eye to eye” on the threat posed by Iran, noting that many other world leaders have agreed with him in private discussions.
“They say that privately, but I say it publicly. The world owes a debt of deep indebtedness… to President Trump for leading this effort to safeguard our future,” said Bibi.
For months, the U.S. pursued a diplomatic resolution through indirect, third-party mediation, while Tehran consistently maintained that its uranium enrichment was strictly for “civilian purposes.”
However, the technical reality told a different story.
While standard nuclear power requires only 3% to 5% enrichment (LEU), and medical research necessitates up to 20%, Iran had reportedly surged to 60% purity. In the world of nuclear physics, this is a critical threshold: reaching 60% completes the most difficult part of the process, leaving only a short technical leap to the 90% enrichment required for weapons-grade material.
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