Naftali Bennett says Iran is developing nuclear power

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is not convinced that the Iranian regime is serious about ongoing negotiations with the United States regarding its nuclear program.

“I think Iran is going to try to do what they always do, which is buy time until they get out of the water,” Bennett told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”

Thursday’s talks, brokered by Oman, were held in Geneva and focused on Iran’s nuclear program. They come as the United States has built up a large military base in the Middle East.

Oman’s foreign minister said after Thursday’s meeting that “substantial progress” had been made and “technical-level talks will take place next week in Vienna,” according to Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

President Donald Trump made clear his desired outcome of the negotiations during his State of the Union address, insisting that he “will never allow the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism … to have a nuclear weapon.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pictured sitting next to Iran’s top military officer. (Getty Images)

Former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett believes the regime is focused on its nuclear ambitions.

“They are rebuilding nuclear power as we speak,” he said, pointing to recent developments near the Natanz facility, which was struck in June 2025 by Israeli and American forces.

Debris from the Plant Fuel Enrichment Plant in Iran’s Natanz area is seen at left on Dec. 3, 2025. On the right, in a satellite image taken on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, a new roof is visible on the building. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

“A nation that does not want nuclear weapons does not need to enrich its country,” he said. “The only reason the regime is doing this is because it wants nuclear weapons.”

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi announced on Tuesday on X that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” saying that the Iranian people have the right to use “peaceful nuclear technology against our people.”

Bennett does not believe those claims.

“From now on, Iran is pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles,” he said, clarifying that “in plain English,” they are missiles that can land “in New York or Tennessee or California.”

“The only reason a country would develop this kind of thing is as a tip for nuclear war,” he said. “This is the time to act.”

Israel’s 13th prime minister said “there will never be a point in history when Iran is in such a vulnerable position,” after anti-government protests that left thousands dead.

Bennett said the regime has killed “32,000 of its own citizens,” as well as thousands of Americans and Israelis over the years by what representatives call a “terrorist octopus.”

One of those octopus weapons is on Israel’s northern border, like the Lebanese group backed by Iran’s Hezbollah, which was crippled by Israeli strikes and the assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah in 2024.

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“Do you believe that Hezbollah will not be involved, or do you believe that you will be attacked by the remnants of Hamas and Hezbollah, should the shooting begin?” Kilmeade asked Bennett.

“I don’t know. We have to prepare one way or another,” Bennett said. “Ten million Israelis live here in Israel, we are boots on the free world.”

“But we understand the price we are willing to pay to remove this threat from the world.”

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