‘Benjamin Netanyahu, will you end Iran war if Donald Trump asks you to?’ Israeli PM responds

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first in-person press conference since the start of the war with Iran. He opened by dismissing viral rumours about his death as "fake news". "I'm alive, and you're all witnesses," he said.

On Israel's strategy of targeting senior Iranian leadership, Netanyahu defended the approach as a deliberate effort to destabilise the regime from within.

"This is part of the effort to crack the regime. It's not going to happen in one day or even in 20 days," he said.

He added that visible "cracks" were already appearing, and Israel was working to accelerate them.

Netanyahu confirmed he had made a personal commitment to US President Donald Trump not to strike Iran's oil and natural gas facilities. However, when asked whether he would halt the war if Washington pushed back due to rising oil prices, he declined to answer directly.

"He's the leader. I'm his ally," he said of Trump.

When pressed on whether Israel could sustain the war without US refuelling support, he deflected the question entirely. He told CNN's Jeremy Diamond, "You exhausted your questions."

Netanyahu also pushed back against suggestions that Israel had dragged the United States into the conflict. He insisted that Trump was already fully aligned with the campaign.

"Anyone who thinks they can tell President Trump what to do is fooling themselves," he said.

Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran on 20 March, the same day Iranians were celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year. This marks a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict between the two countries, according to the Associated Press.

The attacks came just a day after Israel had pledged to hold back from striking a key Iranian gas field. Iran responded by intensifying attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf.

Heavy explosions were also reported over Dubai early Friday, 20 March. Air defences intercepted incoming fire as residents observed Eid al-Fitr.

On the Israeli side, sirens rang out across large parts of the north, from Haifa to the Galilee and up to the Lebanese border. Iran continued its wave of missile attacks. Israel's military reported more than a dozen missile launches on 19 March alone.

The war is now sending shockwaves through the global economy. Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes, is putting severe pressure on global fuel supplies.

Petrol prices in India

Brent crude oil prices have surged close to $108 a barrel this week amid rising tensions from the Israel-Iran war. In the United States, petrol prices have jumped nearly 20%. Yet, in Indian cities like Mumbai, petrol prices have stayed steady at around ₹103 per litre.

The reason is India's "shock absorber" system. Oil marketing companies and the government work together to cushion the impact of global price swings on Indian consumers. This keeps fuel prices stable in the short term.

India, however, cannot keep the prices stable indefinitely. The government has a buffer, excise duty of ₹19.9 per litre on petrol and ₹15.8 per litre on diesel.

According to experts, it can protect prices up to $110 a barrel. For now, oil marketing companies are absorbing the losses. If crude rises further, a fuel price hike for consumers becomes unavoidable.