A statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday cited “countless overt and covert” operations to subvert Iran’s plans to build a nuclear bomb, but he did not deny that US President Donald Trump had canceled plans to strike Iran.

The statement read: “For more than a decade, Prime Minister Netanyahu has spearheaded the international effort to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions even as others downplayed the danger, dismissing it as ‘political spin’ and branding the prime minister as ‘paranoid.'”

According to the statement, the prime minister’s firm stance against Iran, even in the face of opposition, has prevented the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear bomb. “As the prime minister has stated repeatedly, Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons,” the statement said.

The Israeli prime minister “has led countless overt and covert operations in the campaign against Iran’s nuclear program; it is only due to these operations that Iran does not currently possess a nuclear arsenal,” according to Netanayahu’s statement. “These actions have delayed Iran’s nuclear program by approximately a decade, thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s persistence in withstanding great opposition both at home and abroad to his vigorous policy toward Iran.”

However, Netanyahu did not deny that Trump nixed a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Trump had scrapped a planned Israeli strike on Iran in favor of negotiating a nuclear deal.

The outlet revealed that Netanyahu had been advocating for the strike, which involved deploying Israeli commandos inside Iran to target underground nuclear facilities and was to happen as early as May.

The Times reported that top US officials, including Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, head of US Central Command, and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, were willing to examine Israel’s proposed operation and explore potential areas for American assistance.

Image - Reuters