Jerusalem [Israel], March 20 (ANI): As tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (local time) asserted that Israel is gaining the upper hand in its ongoing military campaign against Iran, claiming that Tehran's military capabilities are being significantly weakened.

Addressing a press conference, Netanyahu said, 'We are winning, and Iran is being decimated. Iran's missile and drone arsenal is being massively degraded and will be destroyed.'

Detailing the operations, Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces have targeted and destroyed hundreds of missile launchers, while also inflicting heavy damage on Iran's missile stockpiles and production infrastructure.

'Hundreds of their launchers have been destroyed, their stockpiles of missiles are being hit hard, and so are the industries that produce them. In rising line, we destroyed missiles, and we destroyed a lot of nuclear infrastructure,' he said.

He further emphasised that recent operations have expanded beyond targeting weapons to dismantling Iran's broader defence manufacturing ecosystem.

'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. We're wiping out their industrial base in a way that we didn't do before,' he added.

Netanyahu also claimed that Iran's air defence systems have been neutralised, its naval capabilities severely damaged, and its air force significantly weakened.

'Iran's air defences have been rendered useless. Their Navy is lying at the bottom of the sea...Today, we hit the other part of their Navy in the Caspian Sea. Their air force is nearly destroyed,' he said.

Highlighting the broader impact of the offensive, the Israeli Prime Minister said Iran's military command structure has been disrupted.

'Iran's command and control structure is in utter chaos. And I can tell you that there's still more work to do, and we're going to do it,' he added.

The remarks come amid heightened hostilities between Israel and Iran, with both sides engaged in an intensifying confrontation that has raised concerns of a wider regional conflict.

Earlier, Netanyahu accused Iran of attempting to 'blackmail the world' by disrupting a key global oil route, while asserting that such efforts 'won't work,' as he outlined how Israel's ongoing military operations alongside the United States have completely destroyed Iran's capabilities.

'The death cult in Iran is trying to blackmail the world by closing a key international maritime route - the Strait of Hormuz. It won't work. Israel is helping in its own way, and in other means the American effort to open the Straits of Hormuz. Imagine how the Ayatollah regime would be able to blackmail the entire world if they had ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.'

Netanyahu further said Israel and the United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump, were acting 'with great determination and unprecedented strength' against Iran. He described 'Operation Rising Lion' as a mission aimed at eliminating what he called existential threats posed by the Iranian regime. (ANI)