Benjamin Netanyahu: Islamic Republic is building intercontinental missiles to reach American soil

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said in two television interviews broadcast on Saturday, 17 October 2026, that the Islamic Republic is building intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach American soil and intends to fit them with a nuclear warhead. He warned that in that case every American city would be within range.

In an interview with Fox News host Mark Levin, broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern time, Netanyahu said the Islamic Republic differs from other nuclear powers because its leaders are not bound by cost-benefit calculations and are intensely fanatical. He added that no agreement with Tehran would last, because this government's record is full of lies and deceit.

Likening the Islamic Republic to cancer

In a separate interview with i24NEWS, Israel's prime minister said Israel has, under his leadership, neutralised the immediate threat of its destruction, but that the Islamic Republic will work to revive that threat for as long as it is in power. He likened this government to a cancer that returns if it is not eradicated, and said an important part of the work is done but the job is not yet finished.

Netanyahu tied the removal of the Islamic Republic to Israel's upcoming election and asked who will finish the job. He accused his domestic rivals of hiding the main issue of the election, and said the Islamic Republic, Hamas and Hezbollah are trying to disrupt Israel's election or influence its outcome.

A simultaneous threat from Israel's defence minister

Netanyahu's remarks were broadcast at the same time as an interview by Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, with the country's Channel 14. Katz said Israel and the United States have so far dropped 35,000 bombs on targets in Iran, and that if the conflict resumes, the Islamic Republic's energy facilities will be hit with full force.

Netanyahu had earlier also called removing the Islamic Republic the only way to confront it; a government that, in his words, has taken the Iranian people hostage. His latest remarks come as the US naval blockade continues and Tehran's response to the American proposal to end the war is still under review.

Netanyahu warned that the Islamic Republic's intercontinental missiles with a nuclear warhead would threaten every American city.