Netanyahu insists US and Israel’s strikes on Iran won’t lead to ‘endless war’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Americans on Monday that there won’t be an “endless war” in the Middle East as the United States and Israel continue striking the Iranian regime.
“You’re not going to have an endless war,” Netanyahu told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview. “This terror regime in Iran is at the weakest point that it’s been since it hijacked Iran from the brave Iranian people 47 years ago. So this is going to be a quick and decisive action. And we’re going to create the conditions first for the Iranian people to get control of their destiny, to form their own democratically elected government, which will make a different Iran altogether.”
Netanyahu insisted that the destruction of the Iranian regime would pave the way for “many peace treaties” with other Muslim countries in the region and that it would “change the world.”
“If we go through what we plan to do, I think it will create conditions for peace,” the prime minister said. “This is not an endless war. This is, in fact, something that will usher in an era of peace that we haven’t even dreamed of.”
Netanyahu specifically cited Saudi Arabia as a nation he believes has “a lot to gain” from the Iranian regime’s fall and that peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel will be “very close” as a result.
“So this is a gateway for peace, for broader peace. And I believe that we can achieve it,” Netanyahu continued. “The most important thing to understand is that when we work together, President Trump and I, we achieved, in fact, four breakthroughs for peace. Brokered by President Trump working together with me, we brokered — we brought forward the Abraham Accords, which was four peace treaties with four Arab countries. And now working together against Iran, we will be able to bring many, many more peace treaties. So this is not an endless war. This is a gateway to peace. It’s the exact opposite of what people are saying.”
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Netanyahu laughed at the “ridiculous” assertion Trump’s critics have said that the president was dragged into a war with Iran by Israel.
“Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world,” he said. “He does what he thinks is right for America. He does also what he thinks is right for future generations… Iran is committed to your destruction. And whether people understand it or not, the leader has to understand it. Donald Trump understands it. You don’t have to drag him into anything. He does what he thinks is right, and this is right.”
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He doubled down on the dramatic military action his country and the U.S. have taken with “Operation Epic Fury.”
“The reason that we had to act now is because they were,” Netanyahu said. “After we hit their nuclear sites and their ballistic missiles program, you’d think they learned a lesson, but they didn’t because they’re unreformable. They’re totally fanatic about this—about the goal of destroying America. So, they started building new sites and new places, underground bunkers that would make their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months.”
“If no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future,” Netanyahu continued. “And then they could target America. They could blackmail America. They could threaten us and threaten everyone in between. So, action had to be taken. And you needed a resolute president like Donald J. Trump to take that action.”
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Iran nuclear talks ‘didn’t pass the smell test’ before Trump launched strikes, says Vance
Vice President JD Vance confirmed Monday that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program collapsed after U.S. officials concluded Tehran’s claims “did not pass the smell test,” prompting President Donald Trump to authorize Operation Epic Fury.
Speaking on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Vance said U.S. envoys — including Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner — had conducted rounds of “deliberate” talks in Geneva with the Iranian delegation.
The discussions were aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and averting a broader conflict, he said, but ultimately broke down.
“But the Iranians would come back to us and they’d say, ‘Well, you know, having enrichment for civilian purposes, for energy purposes, is a matter of national pride,’” Vance said.
“And so we would say, ‘OK, that’s interesting, but why are you building your enrichment facilities 70 feet underground? And why are you enriching to a level that’s way beyond civilian enrichment and is only useful if your goal is to build a nuclear bomb?’” he said.
“Nobody objects to the Iranians being able to build medical isotopes; the objection is these enrichment facilities that are only useful for building a nuclear weapon,” Vance clarified.
“It just doesn’t pass the smell test for you to say that you want enrichment for medical isotopes, while at the same time trying to build a facility 70 to 80 feet underground,” he explained.
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Vance spoke as Operation Epic Fury ended its third day. Launched on Feb. 28, U.S. and Israeli forces carried out coordinated precision strikes deep inside Iran aimed at crippling Tehran’s missile arsenal and nuclear infrastructure.
A key issue had been Iran enriching uranium to high levels, including material around 60% purity — a fraction of weapons-grade but far above limits set under the 2015 nuclear deal — keeping international alarm high over proliferation risks.
“We destroyed Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon during President Trump’s term,” Vance told Watters. “We set them back substantially. But I think the President was looking for the long haul,” he said.
“Trump was looking for Iran to make a significant long-term commitment that they would never build a nuclear weapon, that they would not pursue the ability to be on the brink of a nuclear weapon.”
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“He wanted to make sure that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon, and that would require fundamentally a change in mindset from the Iranian regime.”
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“The President is not going to rest until he accomplishes that all-important objective of ensuring that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, not just for the next few years, not just because we obliterated for dough or some other.”
“There’s just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective,” Vance added while describing that the administration would prefer to see “a friendly regime in Iran, a stable country, a country that’s willing to work with the United States.”
Trump sends official notification to Congress on strikes against Iran
President Donald Trump on Monday sent an official notification to Congress about the U.S. strikes against Iran, in which he attempted to justify the military action in the now expanding conflict in the Middle East.
In a letter obtained by FOX News, Trump told Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that “no U.S. ground forces were used in these strikes” and that the mission “was planned and executed in a manner designed to minimize civilian casualties, deter future attacks, and neutralize Iran’s malign activities.”
This comes after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran on Saturday as part of Operation Epic Fury, triggering a response from Tehran and a wider conflict in the region. The strikes killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other military leaders.
Trump wrote that it is not yet possible to know the full scope of military operations against Iran and that U.S. forces are prepared to take potential further action.
“Although the United States desires a quick and enduring peace, not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary,” Trump wrote. “As such, United States forces remain postured to take further action, as necessary and appropriate, to address further threats and attacks upon the United States or its allies and partners, and ensure the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ceases being a threat to the United States, its allies, and the international community.”
“I directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests,” he added. “I acted pursuant to my constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive to conduct United States foreign relations.”
Trump said he was “providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution,” as some Republican and Democrat lawmakers attempt to restrain the president’s military action, which they affirm is unconstitutional without congressional approval.
The president also accused Iran of being among the largest state sponsors of terrorism in the world and purported that the “Iranian regime continues to seek the means to possess and employ nuclear weapons,” even after the White House said in June that precision strikes at the time “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.
US SURGES FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST AS PENTAGON WARNS IRAN FIGHT ‘WILL TAKE SOME TIME’
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“As I previously communicated to the Congress, Iran remains one of the largest, if not the largest, state-sponsors of terrorism in the world,” Trump said in the letter on Monday. “Despite the success of Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER, the Iranian regime continues to seek the means to possess and employ nuclear weapons. Its array of ballistic, cruise, anti-ship, and other missiles pose a direct threat to and are attacking United States forces, commercial vessels, and civilians, as well as those of our allies and partners.”
“Despite my Administration’s repeated efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran’s malign behavior, the threat to the United States and its allies and partners became untenable,” he continued.
Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as a , saying, “Israel was determined to act with or without us” following a classified briefing on Monday evening.
Johnson told reporters after the briefing that Israel viewed Iran’s capabilities as an existential threat and was prepared to conduct operations regardless of U.S. participation. He said Israel’s assessment shaped American deliberations, and it was “determined to act in their own defense here, with or without American support.”
The speaker said administration officials had to weigh risks to U.S. forces, regional assets and interests before supporting the operation.
“They had to evaluate the threats to the U.S., to our troops, to our installations, to our assets in the region and beyond. And they determined, because of the intelligence that we had, that a coordinated response was necessary,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he guarantees that if the U.S. had not acted, the Trump administration would have been hauled in by Congress and asked why they waited if they had “existential intelligence, knowing that that would happen.”
“I am convinced that they did the right thing,” he said.
Rubio confirmed that Israel was prepared to act against Iran and said the president “made a very wise decision.”
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” he told reporters. “And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties
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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, emerged from the briefing and said he did not believe there was an “imminent threat” prior to Saturday’s strikes.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. It was a threat to Israel,” he said. “We equate a threat to Israel is the equivalent of an imminent threat to the United States. Then we are in uncharted territory.”
“We have seen the goals for this operation change now, I believe 4 or 5 times,” he went on.
US SURGES FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST AS PENTAGON WARNS IRAN FIGHT ‘WILL TAKE SOME TIME’
Rubio insisted the operation was not about Iranian regime change but about taking out its capabilities as a threat to the region – focused on ballistic missiles and naval capacity.
He did not say whether strikes would extend to nuclear facilities.
“I do believe there is more than adequate justification for our American and Israeli actions,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters he believes there is “more than adequate justification for our American and Israeli actions,” without saying more.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview afterward that he felt administration officials did a good job of illustrating the threat level faced by the U.S. in the days leading up to the strikes.
“I think that’s largely been very open source. The president laid that out, you know, very clearly. It does go beyond that to what I can’t get into, but it goes beyond that. I’m sure it’ll come out in the administration’s good time, but it’s not for me to say,” Mast said.
“But the more immediate nature of threats — I’m going through the negotiations with [Special Envoy Steve Witkoff], [Jared Kushner], Rubio, others that were a part of having those conversations and throughout that 10-day window of, you know, let’s call it countdown to make a deal, the threats that were going on in that window is probably the high-side information that you have.”
He also said there was a lot of daylight between what Democrats and Republicans in the briefing considered an “imminent threat.”
“It’s like, for me as a soldier, right, if I see an enemy machine gun nest, that to me, given that it’s an enemy machine gun nest, is an imminent threat,” Mast said. “To Democrats, unless that machine gun is burning up its barrels firing at you, it’s not yet an imminent threat. And those are the two separate ways that we’re looking at it.”.
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On February 26th, the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran in coordination with Israel. The offensive campaign has resulted in the death of 49 top Iranian leaders, including the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Six U.S. service members have lost their lives in Iranian counterattacks.
The opening phase of the conflict struck more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. American B-2 bombers flew 37-hour round-trip missions from the continental United States to hit underground facilities with penetrating munitions, he added.
Radical US mosques honor Iran’s Supreme Leader’s ‘martyrdom’ with memorial services, eulogy: ‘Our leader’
Two United States-based mosques that have faced scrutiny for their ties to Iran held formal events to “honor” Ayatollah Khamenei after U.S. military forces took out the Islamic leader of Iran this weekend, including one mosque in Northern Virginia that referred to Khamenei as “our leader.”
Located in Manassas, Virginia, and Dearborn Heights, Michigan, the mosques both publicly advertised events eulogizing the slain leader. In a flyer for the “Potluck Iftar” honoring Khamenei, which is a ceremony where Muslims break their Ramadan fast, the Manassass Mosque, which has faced questions over alleged ties to Iran, referred to Khamenei as “our leader.” Meanwhile, at the Islamic House of Wisdom (IHW) in Dearborn Heights, which has also faced scrutiny over its ties to Iran, the center’s Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi called the U.S. military offensive “evil” and argued that it was based on false-pretenses.
“You promised that America First, and now we ended up to have Netanyahu first,” the Michigan-based Imam told his congregants after the attacks this weekend. “Now we realize that all their talk about nuclear [unintelligible] was a joke, it didn’t even exist. From the beginning talking about regime change, we want to change, because we don’t like it. So, starting an illegal – illegal war – and then go and bomb the house of the leader of the country. Where is justification for this? Where is their reason for this, at all?”
The Michigan-based Islamic worship center and its Imam also touted talking points from Iranian state media and officials that have not yet been confirmed, claiming hundreds of young girls were killed by a missile strike on a school in Iran. Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, said Saturday that 60 young children were killed and 80 injured, but by Sunday Iranian officials were saying the death toll had risen to about 150, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) posted on X on Monday that the alleged death toll was now as high as 168.
According to The Guardian, Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, indicated they were “aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations,” adding that, “We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.”
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“Why a school? Why not a military base or a missile base? They attack children first. It’s a form of their – again, call me crazy – but child sacrifice,” said a speaker at the IHW’s Ramadan program, who gave a speech alongside Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi. “This is a war against justice, against morality, against legality, against truth,” Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi added as he was speaking to his followers.
“Now we realize that all their talk about nuclear [unintelligible] was a joke, it didn’t even exist. From the beginning talking about regime change, we want to change, because we don’t like it,” the Imam continued.
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Both the Manassas Mosque and the IWH were listed in a July 2023 letter that Congressional Republicans sent to former Attorney General Merrick Garland and former Director of National Intelligence during the Biden administration, Avril Haines. The letter called out a network of U.S.-based mosques throughout the country that have received financial funding from the Alavi Foundation, which lawmakers said “is a large foundation that has been in litigation for years because of allegations it operates on behalf of the Iranian regime, a state sponsor of terrorism,” or have other close ties to the Iranian regime.
“The Imam of IHW, Mohammad Ali Elahi, served as the head of ‘political ideology’ for the Iranian Navy in the 1980s, according to a publicly available Central Intelligence Agency report.” the letter asserts. “He personally claims to be ‘friends’ with three former Iranian Presidents, and since moving to the US, he has had seemingly non-stop contact with senior regime officials.”
The letter, which included concerns also laid out in a report drafted by the George Washington University Program on Extremism, adds that IHW has been “a significant purveyor of extremist propaganda, in line with the Iranian regime’s views.”
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The Manassas Mosque was among the groups that received financial funding from the Alavi Foundation, reportedly totaling around $200,000. The mosque has also reportedly been gifted expensive relics from the Iranian regime, and alleged video of the inside reportedly shows the worship center filled with pictures of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “martyrs” killed in Syria, a life-size cut-out of Khamenei and Iranian flags or other symbols.
Fox News Digital reached out to both mosques, but neither returned requests for comment in time for publication.
Iran starts ‘indiscriminate’ strikes across Gulf of Oman, hits shadow tanker tied to regime
Iran is conducting “indiscriminate” targeting of vessels across the Gulf of Oman and the wider Persian Gulf following the launch of U.S.-Israeli strikes under Operation Epic Fury, according to a maritime intelligence firm.
Windward AI noted the sanctioned Palau-flagged tanker Skylight was hit as the conflict across the Middle East entered its second day, with the tanker also holding Iranian nationals among the crew and ties to the regime.
“Analysis of vessel affiliations, targeting patterns, and cargo data points to a strategy of indiscriminate area denial — not precision targeting — aimed at demonstrating Iran’s capability to disrupt the Strait and deter commercial shipping,” the firm said Monday.
Iran has been retaliating with missiles and drones targeting U.S. and allied positions across the region, including in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf, is the world’s most critical energy chokepoint.
While three other vessels were reported attacked since the hostilities escalated Feb. 28, Windward described Skylight as “the highest-risk vessel in the group and the most anomalous target.”
The UKMTO Operation Centre also later confirmed attacks on Skylight, MKD Vyom and Hercules Star, warning of significant military activity across the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the North Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
Skylight had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in December 2025, and was used to transport Iranian petroleum products, according to reports.
It was operated by United Arab Emirates-based Red Sea Ship Management LLC, which Windward noted has documented ties to front companies linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defense.
The vessel had been at anchor since Feb. 22 and carried 20 crew members — 15 Indians and five Iranians.
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“The Skylight anomaly — striking a vessel with an Iranian crew, Iranian operational ties, and active OFAC sanctions — is the single strongest piece of evidence against deliberate targeting by affiliation,” Windward said.
Reuters also reported March 1 that the Palau-flagged tanker was hit off Oman’s Musandam Peninsula in the Gulf of Oman, injuring four.
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Oman’s Maritime Security Center said in a post on X that Skylight was attacked about 5 nautical miles north of Khasab Port, caught fire and was evacuated.
US casualties rise to 6 following Iranian retaliation for massive strikes
Six American military service members have been killed amid Iran’s retaliation over U.S. and Israeli attacks over the weekend, officials said Monday.
The U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, said U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region.
“Major combat operations continue. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” a CENTCOM post on X states.
Following U.S. attacks that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran launched a series of strikes on U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arab, as well as against Israel.
On Monday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more U.S. troops were headed toward the Middle East amid escalations by Iran.
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The U.S. mission in Iran, Caine said, is to “prevent Iran from (the) ability to project power outside its borders.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the mission is to prevent Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon, as well as destroying some of its military capabilities.
Over the weekend, Iran had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman where it has disrupted commercial shipping, CENTCOM said, but that number declined to zero by Monday.
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“The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over,” it said. “Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.”
Longtime Trump critic credits him for restoring ‘credibility of US deterrence’ as Iran strikes unfold
One of President Donald Trump‘s most outspoken critics in the legacy media is praising his administration’s strike on Iran.
Washington Post columnist George Will penned a piece on Sunday titled, “At last, the credibility of U.S. deterrence is being restored.”
“The perhaps 30,000 protesters who perished in Iran’s streets in early January did not die in vain,” Will wrote.
Will, a former Republican who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the most recent presidential elections, marveled at how “Precision munitions, directed by spectacular intelligence, enabled a decapitation strategy” as the U.S. and Israel carried out Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, which resulted in the elimination of the Iranian regime’s top leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The U.S. action for regime change in Iran is not sufficient to produce regional tranquility. It is, however, a necessity for beginning to reestablish a precondition for a more peaceable world: the credibility of U.S. deterrence,” Will told readers.
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The Post columnist lamented the credibility the U.S. lost on the world stage beginning in 1975, citing the last helicopter leaving the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, later invoking President Barack Obama‘s “red line” that he drew for Syria regarding the use of chemical weapons which was later crossed in 2013, as well as President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Today, Vladimir Putin is watching Venezuela, Iran (a source of some of Putin’s drones) and soon, perhaps, Cuba, join Syria as vanished clients. The swiftness of their downfall illustrates the hollowness of Russia’s claim to be a formidable global actor,” Will continued.
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Will also dismissed critics who’ve labeled Trump’s actions as a “war of choice,” calling it a “too casually bandied phrase” that “rarely fits untidy reality” and how his administration “has chosen not to wager U.S. safety on Iran’s abandoning its multi-decade pursuit of nuclear weapons, or on Iran’s acquiring them but not really meaning ‘Death to America.'”
“Nationalism, so often derided, was never captured by Iran’s regime. Instead, nationalism simmered against the state, which warred unceasingly against the nation. As America prepares to help, from a distance, Iran’s political rebirth, we should heed an American poet’s advice of bold thoroughness. Robert Frost: ‘The best way out is always through,'” he concluded.
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