Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that amid the continuing negotiations between the US and Iran to end the current war, he wouldn’t consider the conflict ended until Iran's enriched uranium was removed.
Mr Netanyahu made the comments about recent Iran developments during an interview with CBS's flagship news show, 60 Minutes.
A portion of the interview was previewed during the CBS Sunday morning show, Face the Nation.
“I think [the war in Iran] accomplished a great deal but it’s not over because there’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that need to be taken out and there are still enrichment sites that need to be dismantled,” he said, adding that there were “also proxies that Iran supports and ballistic missiles they want to produce”.
Mr Netanyahu insisted that the US and Israel have degraded many of Iran’s capabilities, but claimed there was still work to be done.
CBS News correspondent Major Garrett pressed Israel’s prime minister for details as to how enriched uranium be removed from Iran.
“President Trump has said to me, ’I want to go in there and I think it can be done physically,’” Mr Netanyahu said, adding that he hoped an agreement could be reached to make that possible.
When asked what would then take place if an agreement could not be reached about the uranium, Israel’s prime minister said he would dodge those questions.
"I’m not going to talk about our military possibilities, plans, or anything of the kind,” he insisted.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, also appearing on CBS Face the Nation, said that the initial US military objectives surrounding initial strikes on Iran had largely been achieved, before cautioning the need for nuance on a whole host of issues related to Iran.
"The ending of the Iranian nuclear programme is a different matter, and that's what still needs to be achieved," he said.
Secretary Wright said the nuclear programme issues could be settled by negotiation, but didn't necessarily rule out other tactics.
"Again, [it will] most likely be achieved by negotiation, but doesn't necessarily have to be achieved by negotiation," he said.
Due to the conflict in Iran over the past few months, the US Energy Secretary has been placed front and centre as anger begins to build across the country due to rising fuel prices due to the back and forth battle over Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Wright told CBS that if the US ultimately chooses to militarily open the Strait of Hormuz, it wouldn't be "a one or two-day endeavour", and even warned that such a scenario would be a "challenge".
He said that amid that threat, Iran indicated that it wanted to make a deal.
"The pausing of that military effort to open the Strait is to get a negotiated settlement with Iran," he explained.
"And if we can get a successful negotiated settlement with Iran, that's great."
The US energy secretary, seemingly seeking to manage expectations, however cautioned that a "negotiated settlement takes time".
Time, however, is not necessarily working in favour of the White House, with much of the US facing record petrol prices and approval ratings for Mr Trump suffering as a result.
