'Not a terrible thing...': Netanyahu on US-Israeli strikes in Iran
What's the story
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the recent United States-Israel military action against Iran, calling it a necessary step to protect not just America and Israel, but the entire world from "theological thuggery." In an interview with Fox News, he said, "It's not a terrible thing to protect humanity...from this theological thuggery. These fanatics who don't care--who just export death, mass death everywhere."
Accusations against Iran
Iran has killed thousands of Americans, spread global terror: Netanyahu
Netanyahu also accused Iran of killing thousands of Americans and spreading terror globally. He said, "Iran for 47 years has been chanting death to America. They have murdered and maimed thousands of Americans." "They bombed your embassies. They tried to assassinate Donald Trump, the President of the United States, twice. They murdered their own people, they massacred so many. And they spread a worldwide web of terror. This is a regime committed to destroying the United States of America."
Praise
'There's never been a president like Trump'
He also praised US President Donald Trump's leadership qualities, calling him decisive and clear-thinking. "There's never been a President like Donald J. Trump. His resoluteness, his decisiveness, his clarity of thinking, the way he gets things -- gets right to the crux of things. He cuts through all the fluff, cuts through the chase, gets down to the main point, and it gets down to the main action that needs to be take," he said.
Military operation
US-Israeli forces launched air and missile strikes across Iran
The conflict began with a large-scale military offensive on February 28, called Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion. US and Israeli forces launched air and missile strikes across Iran, hitting military sites, nuclear infrastructure, and leadership compounds. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials were killed in the attacks. In retaliation, Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies in the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.