E-Paper
Sign In
Israel PM Netanyahu says troops to stay in south Lebanon 'as long as necessary'
Netanyahu, speaking at a public event, reiterated that the Middle East war had achieved Israel's key goal of preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon
- PUBLISHED: Sun 21 Jun 2026, 11:23 PM
- By:
- AFP
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Iran MOU.]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon "as long as necessary", while also vowing to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Recommended For You
"We will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect the cherished residents of the north and all the citizens of Israel... Nothing will alter that commitment," Netanyahu said.
"And with regard to Iran: whatever political developments may unfold, I will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. As long as I serve as prime minister of Israel, that will not happen."
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Later on Sunday, Netanyahu, speaking at a public event, reiterated that the Middle East war had achieved Israel's key goal of preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon.
"We prevented Iran from carrying out a plan to annihilate us and today they would have had an atomic bomb to do so," he said.
"We prevented that from happening. We removed the existential danger. Had we not acted .... Iran would have had atomic bombs and let me tell you something, they would have used them.
"That's what we prevented," he said.
Netanyahu said the joint US-Israel campaign had dealt severe blows to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, from which it might "not recover for a long time".
"Because once you deal these blows and once the rift between the regime and people is so deep, you cannot tell when such a regime would fall," he said.
"I think we created the condition for it to fall. That is what will be the real triumph when the Iranian people will take their own destiny in their hands and they knock out this brutal regime that is terrorising them and terrorising the rest of the world."