Netanyahu appears for first in-person press conference since rumors circulated about his death

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in-person Thursday for a press conference where he confirmed that he was still alive amid rumors circulating over the past week that the leader was dead.

Social media posts on Netanyahu's rumored death began spreading last week while Israel and Iran traded air attacks amid a regional conflict in the Middle East. 

The leader posted a video of himself at a cafe on Monday to debunk the reports, which was recorded in the outskirts of Jerusalem.

"I am alive. You are all witnesses," Netanyahu joked at the press conference. "I want to close these opening remarks with one other fake news, and that is that Israel somehow dragged the U.S. into a conflict with Iran. Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do? Come on. Trump always makes his decisions based on what's best for America." 

Netanyahu also gave an update on the conflict with Iran, stating that the Middle Eastern powerhouse can no longer enrich uranium, marking a significant victory for the U.S. and Israel, who have been targeting Iran's nuclear program.

"We are winning, and Iran is being decimated," Netanyahu said. "What we're destroying now are the factories ​that produce the components to make these missiles and ⁠to make the nuclear weapons that they're trying to produce."

The Israeli leader also claimed that it will be up to the Iranian people to finish toppling its current regime and that it was too soon to tell whether they would seize the moment to do so.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.