Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel, working alongside the United States, has dealt what he described as the “heaviest blow” ever inflicted on Iran’s leadership.
He made the remarks on Monday, April 13, during a state ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem marking the start of Israel’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Netanyahu claimed the Iranian government is now “weaker than ever” following recent regional escalations. In his speech, he connected present-day security threats to historical tragedies, stating that Israel has spent the past two and a half years targeting what he called the Iranian “axis of evil” across multiple مناطق, including Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the West Bank.
He also drew comparisons between Iranian nuclear facilities such as Natanz Nuclear Facility and Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and Nazi-era camps like Auschwitz concentration camp, arguing that without Israeli action, such sites could have become modern-day symbols of destruction.
The commemorations come amid a fragile two-week ceasefire between Israel and Iran, following a regional conflict that began on February 28 after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel remains engaged in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The broader conflict, which escalated after the October 7 attacks, has developed into a multi-front confrontation involving several groups aligned with Iran.
Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed from Monday evening to Tuesday evening, honors the six million Jews killed during World War II. It is separate from the international observance held in January and remains a deeply solemn moment for Israel, even as the country faces one of its most challenging military periods in recent history.
