Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Tuesday at the Israel Security Conference organized by Israel Hayom and the Israel Defense and Security Forum just hours after Israel launched Operation Arrow and Shield in Gaza.

Netanyahu, whose comments were his first since the offensive began with pinpointed airstrikes against Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, said that Israel “will do everything it can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” He added that this was a promise that he will uphold “so long as I am prime minister,” and added that “Israel must do everything it can to defend itself by itself against any threat.”