The disregard for the cost of war, and what intelligence said: Was Israel facing annihilation?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in an election speech that Iran was about to prepare atomic bombs to destroy Israel, and that his action saved the country. The article examines this claim against known facts, presenting a significant gap between the political narrative and available intelligence. Alongside this, the article notes that Netanyahu completely ignored the heavy human and economic cost of the war, and the disaster of October 7.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an election speech at the launch event of the Likud list, repeating a controversial claim: that Iran was about to prepare atomic bombs to destroy Israel, and that had it not been for his action, the State of Israel might not exist. The article examines this claim against known facts, noting that for most of the year, the official line was that Iran had not completed the 'second leg' of its weapons program – the warhead installation facility. A senior Israeli official exposed to the full intelligence described Netanyahu's words as 'hysterical nonsense', and noted that the strike on Iran was not the product of exceptional intelligence information about progress on the nuclear program, but a decision by President Trump. Alongside this, the article notes that Netanyahu consistently ignored the heavy cost of the war: 29 dead and thousands of civilian casualties, widespread economic damage with a 3.3% drop in annual growth, and over 9,000 claims for property damage. The disaster of October 7 and the failure that preceded it were also not mentioned. The article presents Netanyahu's narrative as a powerful political narrative, but not necessarily a factual one.