‘This Is Not the End’: Netanyahu Says Israel Still Has Goals to Achieve In Iran Campaign

Screenshot via Sky News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Wednesday that Israel still has goals in its campaign against Iran despite the current ceasefire with the U.S. being in place.

In a televised address, Netanyahu promised that the campaign is not coming to an “end.” The address followed Israel’s striking Lebanon, and the U.S. needing to clarify that Lebanon was not part of the last-minute ceasefire deal with Iran. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also accused the U.S. of violating the terms of the ceasefire on multiple fronts.

A ceasefire agreement was put in place after President Donald Trump vowed that the Iranian “civilization” would be wiped out on Tuesday by 8 p.m. ET if U.S. demands were not met. Just a couple of hours before the deadline hit, Trump announced a two-week extension to negotiations.

“We still have some goals to accomplish and we will achieve these goals either through agreement and consensus, or through renewal of the war because we are ready to do so whenever necessary,” Netanyahu said, promising that Israel’s “finger is on the trigger” and they will use force to get certain demands met.

According to Netanyahu, the deal between the U.S. and Iran is in “coordination” with Israel and he was not informed at the last minute about the agreement, as some reports have suggested.

The prime minister said:

My dear brothers and sisters, the state of Israel has achieved amazing achievements that until recently would have seemed completely imaginary. Iran is weaker than ever and Israel is stronger than ever. And that is the bottom line of this operation until this point. And I’d like to stress, we still have some goals to accomplish and we will achieve these goals either through agreement and consensus or through renewal of the war because we are ready to do so whenever necessary. Our finger is on the trigger.

As you all know, a temporary ceasefire came into effect tonight, a two week one between Iran and the U.S. in coordination with Israel. No, they did not surprise us at the last moment. And I would like to emphasize, this is not the end of the campaign. It is merely a preparation on our way to achieve all of our goals. Iran is entering these negotiations while beaten and weaker than ever. It has promised to open up the Strait of Hormuz after they gave up on all the preliminary conditions they have set, a final termination to the war, removal of sanctions, and a ceasefire in Lebanon. And while we see Iran weaker than ever, Israel is strong as it’s ever been before.

Israel launched multiple strikes on Wednesday against Hezbollah in Lebanon after Trump had announced the ceasefire agreement with Iran. More than 100 were reportedly killed and hundreds more wounded in the strikes, which targeted areas in Beirut. Israel has remained under fire from Iran and Hezbollah since the ceasefire began.

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