Benjamin Netanyahu, seen at the Etzel Museum in Tel Aviv on August 24, said “the challenge of Iran has not yet ended.”
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the latest US economic measures against Iran, saying they would “tighten the siege” by targeting countries that do business with Tehran.
In a speech at the Binyamin Regional Council in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu acknowledged that the Trump administration did not take significant steps against Iran itself, but rather against the country’s allies.
“What President Trump did yesterday was tighten the siege on Iran. Not by tightening the siege on Iran directly, but by tightening the siege on those who help this regime, this terrible dictatorship. This is a very important thing,” Netanyahu said.
When Netanyahu last visited Washington in late-July – his first meeting with President Donald Trump since before the start of the war in February – he said he laid out three options for the US: reaching an agreement, a renewed military campaign, or economic pressure.
Choosing to return to sanctions and economic pressure, Netanyahu said that Trump “reaffirmed that decision in a very, very, very strong way” with the latest measures. On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened new sanctions on countries refusing to cut economic ties with Iran but stopped short of imposing major new penalties.
Netanyahu added that “the challenge of Iran has not yet ended” and that he is “determined” to ensure Iran posed no threat.