Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hailed the US-Iran peace agreement and portrayed the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran as a major success, saying it had spared Israel from what he described as the threat of "nuclear annihilation". Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15, 2026. Netanyahu said on June 15 that the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran had spared his country from what he described as the Islamic republic's threat of "nuclear annihilation". (AFP)Addressing a press conference after the deal was announced, Netanyahu also laid out Israel's security priorities and reiterated his pledge that Iran would never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.In his first public remarks since the United States and Iran announced an agreement early Monday to end the Middle East war, Netanyahu also said Israeli troops would remain in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria for "as long as necessary".Follow here for live updates on US-Iran peace dealNetanyahu's press conference on US-Iran peace dealSpeaking at a televised press conference, Netanyahu, who has faced criticism over his handling of the war and what opponents describe as his inability to influence Washington's negotiations with Tehran, highlighted what he portrayed as the campaign's key achievements."The most important thing is that we saved the State of Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation," Netanyahu said."And what would that mean? It would mean that millions of Israeli citizens -- you who are hearing me now -- all of you would have been in terrible danger of mass death... And we have pushed away from us, for years, this danger of the annihilation of Israel's population," he said.Also Read | Trump says ‘no sanctions relief’ for Iran in peace deal: ‘Starts taking effect if they...’Netanyahu vowed that Iran would never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, regardless of the outcome of any agreement."With an agreement or without one, Iran will not have nuclear weapons," he said."Not today and not tomorrow," he added, saying the US-Israeli campaign had struck "every possible infrastructure target" in Iran."I made no mistake at all... We said we wanted to remove an existential threat hanging over us: first, the nuclear threat -- and we did that, second the missile threat -- and we did that."Listing what he called the operation's achievements, Netanyahu said: "We neutralised their nuclear scientists, decapitated the leaders of the terror regime, crushed the nuclear facilities, destroyed missiles, and destroyed the overwhelming majority of factories producing missiles."He also argued that the campaign had established a "credible military threat" that would underpin any future agreement with Iran, something he said had been absent during the early stages of the conflict triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel."We still do not know what the agreement will actually be. But I can tell you the fundamental difference between then and now: Any agreement must be accompanied by a credible military threat," he said."Back then there was no credible military threat. Today there is. And not only because of the United States -- because of us."However, Netanyahu said the threat to Israel remained, not only from Iran but also from its regional allies, which he said had been "struck in an unprecedented manner"."We established deep security zones around the State of Israel. We did this in Gaza, in Lebanon, and in Syria," he said."And I want to make it clear: we will remain in these security zones for as long as necessary to protect our country."The US-Iran agreement envisages an end to the conflict across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants."Israel will not allow terrorist organisations to entrench themselves on our borders, dig terror tunnels into our territory, or prepare massacres near our citizens," he said.