Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he dealt Iran and its proxy forces deadly blows comparable to the Bible's "10 plagues," calling them the "five plagues."
On the 31st (local time), a day before Passover, a major Jewish holiday, Prime Minister Netanyahu highlighted Israel's military achievements in a video statement.
He argued that although Iran poured about $1 trillion (about 1,350 trillion won) into developing ballistic missiles, enriching nuclear material, and backing armed proxies, all of it came to nothing due to Israeli strikes.
Netanyahu presented the so-called "five plagues" targeting Iran proper as ▲ strikes on its nuclear program ▲ destruction of ballistic missile facilities ▲ neutralization of the regime's base of power ▲ pressure on internal security forces ▲ elimination of top leaders.
He then declared, "We have completely destroyed Iran's industrial capacity to produce nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles," repeatedly emphasizing, "The fall of the Iranian regime is not far off."
The "12-day war" fought between the two countries in June last year was also mentioned. Netanyahu said, "If at the time we removed the immediate threat of Iran's nuclear armament, in this war we annihilated the Iranian regime's industrial capacity itself to produce those instruments of destruction."
Netanyahu assessed the current situation as a "strategic reversal."
He said, "In the past Iran tried to strangle Israel, but now Israel is tightening Iran's neck," adding, "The Iranian regime is weaker than ever, while Israel has grown stronger than ever."
He went on, "We are building new alliances with key countries in the region against our common threat, Iran," adding, "I hope to be able to explain important agreements in more detail before long." However, he did not name specific alliance partners.
Listing achievements while the war is not over appears aimed at cementing his record in case of an early end to the war.
That day, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "end the Iran war very soon," projecting a withdrawal in two to three weeks.