'Trump knows the game': Netanyahu says US can decide to join Iran war but Israel can carry out entire mission alone

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (June 19) praised US President Donald Trump for participating in defending Israel, saying that it depends on him whether he wants to join the Israel-Iran war.

The Israeli PM visited Soroka Hospital, and while talking to reporters, said that Trump knows the game.

When asked about the US joining Israel in the Iran war, Netanyahu said, it “is a decision for President Trump.”

“He will do what is good for America, and I will do what’s good for Israel,” Netanyahu said, adding that the US president “knows the game.”

He further appreciated the United States' participation in defending Israel in the ongoing war.

Israel has the ability to carry out the entire mission by itself if needed, the Israeli PM stressed, adding, "At the end of this operation, there will be no nuclear threat on Israel, and there won’t be a ballistic threat.”

"We are committed to destroying the nuclear threat, the threat of nuclear annihilation against Israel," he said.

Moreover, Netanyahu said that all of us are paying a personal price in the war, "and that hasn’t missed my family as well — my son canceled a wedding.”

'No one is immune'

Israeli PM Netanyahu said that he would not rule out a strike on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“No one is immune,” Netanyahu said. “All the options are open", adding, "It’s best not to speak about this in the press.”

However, Defence Minister Israel Katz has been publicly threatening the Iranian supreme leader for days now.

On Wednesday midnight, dozens of people were injured in the strike on the Soroka Medical Centre, which Iran said targeted a command-and-control centre nearby.

The Israel and Iran war entered their seventh day on Thursday. The latest round of hostilities began after a series of Israeli air raids on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last week. Those initial strikes led to retaliatory action from Iran and a sharp increase in attacks across both sides.