• Netanyahu confirms U.S. June strikes on Iran did not eliminate all enriched uranium stockpile.
• Israeli Prime Minister says mission aimed at degrading, not destroying, Iran’s nuclear capacity.
• Interview aired on Fox News as U.N. debates next steps on Iran nuclear program.

JERUSALEM (TDR) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June was never expected to destroy the country’s full uranium stockpile, clarifying comments he made last month at the United Nations about Iran’s growing nuclear threat.

In an interview with Fox News anchor Jacqui Heinrich, who was hosting her first week of The Sunday Briefing, Netanyahu acknowledged that both Israel and the United States entered the June operation aware that Iran would retain part of its enriched uranium after the strikes.

“No, we knew that in advance,” Netanyahu said when asked if all of Iran’s enriched uranium had been destroyed during the 12-day conflict, sometimes referred to as the “June war.” “In fact, our whole plan before and after the United States decided to join us took into account that we wouldn’t get these 450 kilograms of enriched uranium. We knew that.”

Clarifying UN Remarks

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Netanyahu’s admission comes after his address at the United Nations in September, where he declared that Iran’s nuclear stockpile “must be eliminated.” Critics seized on the remark as evidence of shifting Israeli expectations about the June strikes, which featured U.S. B-2 bombers targeting Iranian facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and other hardened sites.

Pressed by Heinrich to reconcile his UN rhetoric with the outcome of the strikes, Netanyahu suggested that his comments were aspirational rather than a literal assessment of what the bombing achieved. “Elimination is the goal, but you don’t get there with one operation,” he said. “What you do is weaken the program, slow it, and set Iran back from the nuclear threshold.”

A Mission of Degradation, Not Destruction

Israeli and U.S. military officials have long warned that Iran’s nuclear program is too dispersed and hardened to be fully destroyed from the air. By Netanyahu’s own account, the June mission was designed to degrade capabilities, disrupt research, and force Tehran into defensive postures rather than to wipe out uranium stockpiles completely.

Military analysts note that the B-2 bomber strikes succeeded in damaging centrifuge facilities and key command-and-control hubs, while cyber operations reportedly ran parallel to the aerial campaign to complicate Iran’s response. Still, Iran retained hundreds of kilograms of enriched uranium, leaving its breakout time — the period needed to produce weapons-grade material — shortened but not eliminated.

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“The strikes bought time, not finality,” said one Israeli defense analyst. “The problem is that Tehran now has both a grievance and a justification to accelerate enrichment.”

Domestic and International Fallout

Netanyahu’s remarks are likely to fuel debate both inside Israel and abroad about the effectiveness of the joint U.S.-Israeli operation. Critics in Israel’s opposition have already accused the prime minister of overstating the mission’s impact for political gain, while Washington policymakers remain divided over whether further strikes are warranted.

Iran, for its part, has vowed to rebuild and expand its program, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemning the June strikes as an “act of war” and vowing retaliation against both Israel and the United States. Negotiations at the United Nations have stalled amid Tehran’s refusal to allow inspectors unfettered access to all sites.

Looking Ahead

Netanyahu’s candid confirmation may reset expectations as Israel continues to press for tougher international action. By conceding that the June operation was never intended to be decisive, he framed it as the opening salvo in a longer campaign of deterrence.

“We did what was necessary at the time, and we will do what is necessary in the future,” Netanyahu told Fox News. “Iran cannot be allowed to cross the threshold. The world must act before it is too late.”

With Iran’s nuclear program still intact — though dented — and diplomacy faltering, Netanyahu’s words highlight the enduring dilemma for both Israel and the United States: strikes can delay, but they may not prevent.

If airstrikes cannot fully eliminate Iran’s nuclear stockpile, will the world inevitably face a larger conflict?

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