Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference as the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026.
Ronen Zvrun | Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the United States and Israel are still aiming to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions and that the war with Iran is “not over.”
“There’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium, that needs to be taken out of Iran,” he said in a recorded interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” scheduled to air Sunday night. “There are still enrichment facilities that have to be dismantled, there are still Iranian-backed proxy facilities, there are still ballistic missiles that they still want to build…There is work to be done.”
Asked about how the United States and Israel would remove nuclear material, Netanyahu said: “You go in and take it out.”
Netanyahu’s comments come ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to China later this week, where he is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The war and Iran’s subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz caused global energy costs to soar and U.S. gasoline prices to soar.
The U.S. and Iranian governments are trying to negotiate a peace deal through Pakistani mediators, but a deal remains elusive.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s counter-offer to US proposals to end the war, calling it “totally unacceptable!” In a post on Truth Social.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday details of Iran’s latest response.
According to the newspaper, Iran did not agree to U.S. demands regarding its nuclear program and stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and instead called for separate nuclear negotiations, diluting some of the highly enriched uranium and sending the rest to third countries. According to the paper, if the US withdraws from the nuclear deal, the uranium will be returned to Iran.
Additionally, the United States would lift the blockade of Iranian ports and in return Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic.
The United States wants guarantees that Iran will halt its nuclear program as part of a peace deal. Iran has reportedly agreed to halt uranium enrichment, but for a shorter period than the 20-year moratorium proposed by the United States, and has also refused to dismantle its nuclear facilities, the newspaper reported.
