Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel's military campaign against Iran had prevented Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons in the near term and averted an existential threat to the Jewish state.
"We saved the state of Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation," Netanyahu said.
Without the large-scale military operations carried out jointly with the United States, "Iran would already have nuclear bombs," Netanyahu said, adding that millions of Israelis would have faced a mortal threat. The campaign had removed that danger for "years" to come, he said.
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, insisting that its nuclear programme is intended solely for civilian purposes.
Netanyahu reiterated that he would never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
"With or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons," he said. "As long as I am prime minister of Israel, that will not happen."
He also said Israel's campaign against Iran and its regional allies was not over. Israeli forces would remain in "security zones" in Gaza, southern Lebanon and Syria for as long as necessary, he said.
Asked about reports of disagreements with US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said the two leaders did not always share the same views.
"I am responsible for Israel's security interests," he said.
After weeks of negotiations, the United States and Iran agreed on a framework accord to end more than three months of war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement is due to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.
However, many details of the agreement have yet to be disclosed.
"We still do not know what the agreement will look like," Netanyahu said.
In Israel, the agreement has been criticized primarily by opposition politicians, who have described it as a capitulation to Iran.
