Netanyahu says Israel and U.S. launched Lion’s Roar against Iran

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a recorded message saying Israel and the United States have embarked on a joint military campaign called “Operation Lion’s Roar,” and said the operation aims to confront Iran’s nuclear and missile threat. Speaking in Hebrew, Netanyahu described the campaign as an effort to put an end to what he characterized as the Ayatollah regime’s danger to Israel and U.S. forces.

In the message, Netanyahu said the campaign involves Israeli strikes on targets tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Basij, alongside U.S. military action focused on ballistic missile sites that he said threaten both Israel and U.S. forces. He framed the joint effort as continuing under coordination between the two countries, describing it as an undertaking started after “Operation Lion’s Roar” began.

Netanyahu said the operation would keep going “as long as necessary.” He also laid out a broader rationale for the campaign, saying for decades Iran’s leadership has called for the destruction of Israel and America and describing Iran’s regional role and support for proxies, without offering additional evidence beyond his characterization in the message.

He contrasted the new campaign with Israel’s June war against Iran, saying “Operation Lion’s Roar” would be “much more powerful” than the “12-day war” Israel launched in June that he described as “Operation Rising Lion.” He also said that, in recent months, Iran’s leaders had been “plotting to rebuild their nuclear and missile capabilities” and to bury them underground, and that negotiations involving Iranian representatives were an effort, he said, to “buy time.”

Netanyahu said the operation would be carried out “in full cooperation with our friends in the United States,” and he attributed the joint approach to U.S. leadership under President Donald Trump. He later thanked Trump and said Israel viewed the U.S. military as acting with courage as the campaign continued.

Addressing Israelis, Netanyahu urged them to follow instructions of the Home Front Command, saying they “save lives,” and he said challenging days were ahead because, in his account, every military action carries risk. He said Israel’s choice was driven by the risk he described of not acting, including a “nuclear Iran” and ballistic missile capabilities that he said would be immune to Israel’s counteractions.

Netanyahu also addressed an audience in Iran, saying “you are not our enemies and we are not your enemies,” and he described a “common enemy” as the Ayatollah regime and the Revolutionary Guards and Basij. He said that anyone who lays down weapons, including among Iranian regime forces, would ensure their safety and secure their future, and he urged Iranian civilians to “take your destiny into your own hands.”

In discussing the prior phase of the war, Netanyahu said he had often been asked whether the overthrow of the regime was the goal of “Operation Rising Lion.” He said he had replied that overthrow was not the goal, “but it could certainly be the outcome,” and he said that outcome began to happen as “millions of Iranians” took to the streets. He then said that, under “Operation Lion’s Roar,” Iranians would have the opportunity to take control of their destiny.

Near the end of his message, Netanyahu referenced the Jewish holiday of Purim, telling a biblical story and linking it to his view of what he said would come for the “end of the evil regime.” He also used a verse from Amos and said Israel would “roar” in the operation, telling Israelis not to fear and to “stand as one person with one heart.”