JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a recorded statement on Saturday evening regarding the ceasefire with Iran.

“The campaign is not over yet, but already now it is possible to state clearly: We have historic achievements. I want to remind you where we were. Iran tried to encircle Israel in a stranglehold. They wanted to choke us, and we are choking them. They threatened to annihilate us, and now they are fighting to survive.”

“We struck them, and there is more to be done. I approved various operations, most of them covert, to delay Iran, and indeed we delayed them, but the world did not hear.

According to Netanyahu, Israeli and U.S. strikes targeted nuclear facilities, missile stockpiles and launchers, and led to the killing of senior nuclear scientists involved in weaponization efforts.

“We eliminated 12 of their senior nuclear scientists,” he said, adding that further operations later killed additional figures tied to Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu also claimed Israel had destroyed key infrastructure, including centrifuge systems, uranium production facilities and what he described as Iran’s heavy water plant in Arak.

“We reached a situation where Iran does not have a single active enrichment facility,” he said, without providing evidence.

Netanyahu said that he had acted despite opposition to his stance: “Many said, ‘It’s not so terrible.’ Some even said it wouldn’t be so terrible if Iran had nuclear weapons. I heard these voices not only from outside, but also from within. And as the Prime Minister of Israel, the only Jewish state, I could not accept that. The major turning point came on that evening of ‘Operation Rising Lion,’ when I informed you that our brave pilots were flying in Iranian skies and striking targets across Iran.”

Netanyahu added: “We were the first to break the barrier of fear of operating inside Iran itself. I remember how I felt, such excitement, such pride, goosebumps. I know you all felt it too. But if I had told you a year ago that our pilots would be flying over Iran, who would have believed it?”

Netanyahu reiterated that Israel prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, despite assessments and reports that the Islamic Republic could reach nuclear breakout within a matter of months. “We had to remove two existential threats. If we had not launched these two operations against Iran, there would already be atomic bombs. That existential threat we prevented.”

He added that Israeli actions also aimed to weaken Iran’s leadership, describing it as being at its lowest point since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“We made a huge change here,” Netanyahu said. “There are people who say we have no achievements — but we have enormous achievements.”

He said the impact is reflected in what he described as a weakened Iranian government “begging for a ceasefire,” as well as internal disputes among its leadership and growing difficulty in meeting the needs of its citizens.

“Iran is no longer the same Iran,” Netanyahu said. “And Israel is no longer the same Israel. Those who threatened to destroy us are now fighting for their own survival.”