Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran's nuclear ambitions threaten not only Israel but also the United States and Europe, praising US President Donald Trump's determination to confront the Iranian regime.
Speaking with Mark Levin on Fox News' "Life, Liberty & Levin" in an interview which aired Saturday night, Netanyahu discussed the Iranian threat, his relationship with Trump, Israel's military operations in Gaza and the upcoming Israeli election on October 27.
Netanyahu described Iran as the driving force behind several terrorist organizations operating against Israel, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
"Because Hamas, the three H's as I call them, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis in Yemen, they're basically arms of this toxic octopus, you know, and it's the Ayatollahs in Iran. It's not the Iranian people. The Iranian people are great people."
The Prime Minister distinguished between the Iranian people, whose history and culture he praised, and the country's rulers, whom he accused of seeking to destroy America.
He argued that Tehran's ambitions extend beyond Israel to controlling the Middle East, strategic waterways and oil supplies before turning its attention toward Europe and the United States.
"You're the great Satan. We're the little Satan. I say to my European friends, I hope you're not offended. You're a middle-sized Satan."
Netanyahu warned that Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States and intends to equip them with nuclear warheads.
"And they want them to have nuclear warheads. And then every single city in the United States, every single city, will be held hostage to the blackmail of these fanatics. So the only way you can deal with it is to basically to get rid of this regime."
He described confronting the Iranian regime as a long-term effort requiring military and economic measures.
Recalling a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago before the last US presidential election, Netanyahu said the President had raised the need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, demonstrating his understanding of the threat to American security.
"And that's a long process. It's both military and economic, and I think President Trump is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."
Netanyahu argued that Iran would be particularly dangerous as a nuclear power because its leadership does not operate according to the same calculations as other countries possessing nuclear weapons.
"Iran would be a nuclear power unlike any other that we see in the world, because they don't have this careful calculus of cost and benefit, because it's so fanatic."
He also expressed skepticism about the possibility of reaching a lasting agreement with Tehran.
"So you can't win them over. You can't buy them out. You can't, you know, and no deal holds more than two seconds, because they do one thing consistently and reliably. They lie."
Turning to his personal relationship with Trump, Netanyahu said their cooperation rests on years of familiarity and a shared understanding of the security challenges facing their countries.
"I always recognize he's the president of the United States, he does what he thinks is good for the United States. And that's exactly what he does. I do the same for Israel," Netanyahu said. "And I'm glad that it often, very often, this meshes."
With Israel preparing for its first national election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and the wars that followed, Netanyahu said he was concentrating on securing another term in office.
"First, I have to get elected," Netanyahu said. "And by the way, I fight every campaign as though I'm [going to] lose, and that's the only reason I win. But I have to fight it in the coming week, and I will."
"But God willing, if I'm elected, then this partnership will continue to bring security and bring peace," he added.
Netanyahu also defended Israel's conduct during the war against Hamas in Gaza, noting that the IDF had taken extensive measures to warn civilians before military operations.
"The moral high ground is when you defend your people against monsters, and when you do so, try to minimize civilian casualties."
He said Israel had distributed millions of leaflets and sent phone calls and text messages urging Palestinian Arab civilians to leave areas where Hamas was operating.
"We send thousands, no, millions of flyers, millions of phone calls, millions of text messages to the Palestinian civilians saying, get out of harm's way."
Netanyahu pointed out that Hamas uses civilian neighborhoods and hospitals for military purposes while preventing residents from leaving combat zones.
"That's how we got the civilian casualties. So who's being accused? Israel. That's crazy."