'This is not the end,' Netanyahu says as he insists Iran war not over despite ceasefire deal
The Israeli Prime Minister said "Iran is weaker than ever" and "Israel is stronger than ever" but stressed that he still has goals to achieve in the conflict.
Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the US-Iran ceasefire deal does not mark "the end of the campaign" to wipe out the threat posed by the Iranian regime as he vowed to go further to achieve Israel's military aims.
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In an address to the nation, the Israeli Prime Minister said "Iran is weaker than ever" and "Israel is stronger than ever" but stressed that his country still has goals to achieve in the conflict.
"This is not the end of the campaign," he said, adding: "Iran is entering these negotiations while beaten and weaker than ever."
The Iranian regime has been set back by "decades", he added, claiming Iran is not able to manufacture any new missiles and that forces are firing now are from its existing missiles stored in warehouses.
It comes as the fate of the two-week ceasefire agreed on by Iran and the US last night looks increasingly in doubt as bombs continue to rain down on the Middle East.
Israel has not relented in its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon since the deal was struck, with some reports indicating at least 254 people have been killed in strikes on the country in its heaviest wave of attacks on the country since the conflict began.
That's despite both the US and Iran agreeing last night in its 11th hour truce that the ceasefire should include Lebanon.
While Israel backed a pause to strikes in Iran, it did not agree to halt the fighting in Lebanon and is pressing on with its assault on the country.
It comes as Iran has warned any tankers travelling along the Strait of Hormuz without permission will be destroyed and demanded that vessels pay a toll to pass through the crucial shipping lane.
Hours after agreeing a temporary ceasefire with the White House, Iran broadcast a message to oil tankers on the vital waterway, warning: “If any vessels try to transit without permission, [they] will be destroyed.”
The Iranian regime is reportedly demanding ships pay a massive toll to pass through the Strait - which transports around 20 per cent of the world’s oil.
According to the Financial Times, Iran wants $1 per barrel of oil, with the toll paid in cryptocurrency.
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is a crucial element of Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire, but almost a day on from his announcement, ships are still not passing through.
The agreement followed a request by Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator in the conflict between the warring sides.
The Iranian regime said it had accepted a temporary truce but warned that its “hands remain upon the trigger”, while a White House official said Israel had also accepted the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Announcing the two-week pause in the bombing campaign, Mr Trump said Tehran proposed a 10-point plan that provided “a workable basis on which to negotiate”.
But he wrote that US forces would be “hangin’ around in order to make sure that everything goes well”.Tehran believes the deal will keep the strait under Iranian control, allowing it to levy tolls on shipping.
Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had invited Iranian and US officials to Islamabad for talks on Friday.
Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that it was “a big day for World Peace!” and predicted “the Golden Age of the Middle East”.