{"id":20332,"date":"2026-02-27T02:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T02:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/20332\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T02:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T02:27:13","slug":"naftali-bennett-claims-iran-is-rebuilding-nuclear-capabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/20332\/","title":{"rendered":"Naftali Bennett claims Iran is rebuilding nuclear capabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6389996212112\" data-v-324c3b57=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Former Israeli PM warns against Iranian nuclear enrichment<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-v-324c3b57=\"\">Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tells Brian Kilmeade Iran is leveraging nuclear talks to buy time while rebuilding its nuclear infrastructure. He argues Iran is a &#8216;terror octopus&#8217; and the US military presence is vital for regional stability.<\/p>\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett isn\u2019t convinced the Iranian regime is sincere about ongoing talks with the United States about its nuclear program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">&#8220;I think Iran is going to try and do what they always do, which is buy time until they\u2019re out of the water,&#8221; Bennett told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade Thursday on &#8220;Fox &amp; Friends.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-envoy-witkoff-jared-kushner-geneva-closely-watched-iran-negotiations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">talks, mediated by Oman,<\/a> were held in Geneva and centered around Iran\u2019s nuclear program.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They came as the United States has built up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/pentagon-official-warns-us-assets-middle-east-set-highly-kinetic-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">significant amount of military assets in the Middle East.<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/witkoff-kushner-oman-iran-talks.jpg\" alt=\"Witkoff, Kushner in Oman for Iran talks\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, President Donald Trump&#8217;s special representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner meet ahead of the U.S.-Iran talks in Muscat, the capital of Oman, Feb. 6, 2026.\u00a0 (Oman Foreign Ministry\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Oman\u2019s foreign minister said after Thursday\u2019s meeting that &#8220;significant progress&#8221; was made and &#8220;discussions on a technical level will take place next week in Vienna,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TreyYingst\/status\/2027095641298534421\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according to reporting from Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump made the desired outcome of the talks clear during his State of the Union address, emphasizing that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trumps-iran-ultimatum-enters-decisive-stretch-after-state-union\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">&#8220;will never allow the world\u2019s No. 1 sponsor of terror \u2026 to have a nuclear weapon.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/khamenei-iran-getty.jpg\" alt=\"Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits next to a senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett believes the regime is set on its nuclear ambitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are rebuilding nuclear capabilities as we speak,&#8221; he said, pointing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/iran-rebuilding-nuclear-program-despite-trump-talks-opposition-figure-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">recent observed activity near the Natanz facility<\/a>, which was struck in June 2025 by Israeli and U.S. forces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/natanz-iran-nuclear-site-1.jpg\" alt=\"Split image showing damaged Iranian nuclear site building and new roof over it\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>The rubble of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at Iran&#8217;s Natanz nuclear site is seen on the left Dec. 3, 2025. On the right, in a satellite image taken Jan. 28, 2026, a new roof is seen over the building. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A nation that does not seek nuclear weapons doesn\u2019t need any enrichment within its country,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The only reason a regime is doing it is because it wants nuclear weapons.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trumps-iran-ultimatum-enters-decisive-stretch-after-state-union\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">TRUMP\u2019S IRAN ULTIMATUM ENTERS DECISIVE STRETCH AFTER STATE OF THE UNION<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/araghchi\/status\/2026353045848629565\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">declared Tuesday on X that<\/a> &#8220;Iran will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon,&#8221; saying Iranians have the right to harness &#8220;peaceful nuclear technology for our people.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bennett does not believe those claims.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As of now, Iran is pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles,&#8221; he claimed, clarifying that &#8220;in simple English,&#8221; they are missiles that could land in &#8220;New York or Tennessee or California.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The only reason a nation develops this sort of thing is for a nuclear war tip,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is the time to act.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s 13th prime minister argued &#8220;there will be no point in history where Iran is at such a vulnerable point&#8221; after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/iran-regime-reportedly-issued-nationwide-shoot-to-kill-orders-protest-death-toll-surges\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">anti-government protests that left thousands dead.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bennett said the regime murdered &#8220;32,000 of its own citizens&#8221; and thousands of Americans and Israelis over the years through its proxies that he calls a &#8220;terror octopus.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One of those octopus arms is on Israel\u2019s northern border in the form of the Lebanese<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/iran-tightens-hezbollah-grip-trump-weighs-military-strikes-within-deadline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Iranian-backed group Hezbollah<\/a>, which was crippled by Israeli strikes and the 2024 assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Do you believe Hezbollah won\u2019t get involved, or do you believe you\u2019re going to be attacked by what\u2019s left of Hamas and Hezbollah, should the shooting start?&#8221; Kilmeade asked Bennett.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don\u2019t know. We have to be prepared one way or another,&#8221; Bennett said. &#8220;The 10 million Israelis living here in Israel, we are the boots on the ground of the free world.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But we understand that it\u2019s a price that we are willing to pay in order to remove this threat from the world.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  Related Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/irans-supreme-leader-runs-state-within-state-through-secret-4000-person-network-report-says\" data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_media_article_article-content_related-article_1_1_media\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/khamenei-irgc.jpg\" alt=\"Iran's supreme leader runs 'state within a state' through secret 4,000-person network, report says\" width=\"117\" height=\"66\"\/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>Levi D&#8217;Amato is a digital production assistant with Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Israeli PM warns against Iranian nuclear enrichment Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tells Brian Kilmeade Iran&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[8480,13418,13419,13420,65,3188,9604],"class_list":{"0":"post-20332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-ali-khamenei","9":"tag-fn-flash","10":"tag-fox-friends","11":"tag-fox-news-media","12":"tag-geneva","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-middle-east-foreign-policy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}