Netanyahu declares 'America First, not America dead' in thank you note for Trump

Israeli PM Netanyahu thanked Donald Trump for the US's continuous support in the country's escalating conflict with Iran

Updated on: Jun 17, 2025, 04:57:34 IST

By HT News Desk

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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday thanked US President Donald Trump for supporting the country in its conflict against Iran and stated that Iran posed a threat to America as well.

Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran. (REUTERS)

In an interview with ABC News, Netanyahu said, “Today its Tel Aviv, tomorrow its New York. I understand America First but I don't understand America dead. That's what these people want. They chant ‘death to America’.”

Also Read: Netanyahu says haven't ruled out killing Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

He added, “We're doing something in the service of mankind, of humanity and its a battle of good against evil. America does and should stand with the good. That's what President Trump is doing and I deeply appreciate his support.”

During the same interview, he spoke about the ongoing conflict with Iran and stated that the campaign would continue until ‘evil’ was defeated.

Watch: Netanyahu sends birthday wishes to Trump amid Israel-Iran conflict | Khamenei

"The 'forever war' is what Iran wants, and they're bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil," he told the news outlet.

Also Read: Netanyahu says Iran ‘wants to kill’ Trump, was behind assassination attempts

Responding to a question about whether Israel would target the Iranian supreme leader, Netanyahu said that his country was "doing what we need to do". He further said, “I'm not going to get into the details, but we've targeted their top nuclear scientists,” adding that “it's basically Hitler's nuclear team.”

Both Israel and Iran have been repeatedly warning each other of severe consequences. The two nations continued to trade fire for a fourth day on Monday.

Since Friday, at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,200 have been injured in the Israeli strikes on Iran, as per the country's health ministry.

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HT News Desk
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