Israel’s National Security Adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, stated that only President Donald Trump has the strength and determination to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions through a “good deal.” His remarks come shortly after Israel launched significant strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, targeting senior military leaders, air defenses, and nuclear sites, including key facilities in Natanz and Isfahan.
Speaking to Israeli television on Friday, Hanegbi acknowledged that while Israel carried out the attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, only Trump can negotiate an agreement between the two countries. He emphasized that military force alone cannot eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, but Trump has the potential to do so. Hanegbi expressed confidence that Trump can secure a deal compelling Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and pressure the regime to fully dismantle its nuclear program—something he believes only Trump can achieve.
“Only the Americans can bring that about,” he said. “Only President Trump. He is capable of bringing about what is described as ‘a good deal’ — the model under which Iran, by its choice, gives up on nuclear weapons, pays considerable costs, gets lots of benefits… That’s the diplomatic expectation…”
Hanegbi explained that Israel’s current operation against Iran has four key goals, which include disrupting Iran’s nuclear activities, damaging its ballistic missile capabilities, reducing its ability to carry out a ground assault on Israel, and laying the groundwork for long-term diplomatic efforts to block Iran’s path to nuclear weapons. When asked whether the goal was for the Israeli military to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, Hanegbi responded that such an outcome isn’t achievable through military force alone.
Instead, Hanegbi suggested that a more realistic outcome would be similar to what happened in countries like Libya and South Africa, where leaders chose to give up their nuclear weapons programs after weighing the risks and benefits.
Hanegbi stated that Trump was informed in advance about Israel’s strikes on Iran and noted that since the president returned to office, there has been daily high-level diplomatic communication involving Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister Ron Dermer, himself, and U.S. leaders, including Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
He said that Israel expects Iran to continue retaliating and noted that Israel’s campaign is at “the beginning of the beginning.”