Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is seeking to end the military assistance it receives from the U.S. in the next 10 years, a move that he said is “in the works.”

In an interview with The Economist released Friday, Netanyahu said that during his December visit to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., he told Trump that Israel “very deeply appreciate[s] the military aid that America has given us over the years.”

But, he said, “we’ve come of age and we’ve developed incredible capacity. And our economy, which will reach, certainly within a decade, will reach about a trillion dollars — it’s not a huge economy, but it’s not a small economy. So I want to taper off military aid within the next 10 years.”

“And that’s not saying that I don’t want to fight for the allegiance and support of the American people — I do, you would have to be crazy not to,” Netanyahu continued.

“You want to taper it off to zero?” Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, asked.

“Yes,” Netanyahu said.

“That would be a very dramatic shift,” Beddoes responded.

“Well, it’s in the works,” the prime minister replied.

Israel and the U.S. currently have a 10-year memorandum of understanding that provides Israel with $3.8 billion of security assistance annually, through 2028. Negotiations to establish the next MOU are underway.

The United States, Israel and their regional allies are watching closely as sustained unrest in Iran puts renewed pressure on the regime at a moment of economic strain, international isolation and lingering fallout from the 12-day war with Israel last June.

Recent demonstrations have spread across all 31 of Iran’s provinces, fueled by public anger over a collapsing economy, inflation exceeding 40% and aggressive crackdowns by security forces. Economic pressure — intensified by costly proxy wars and United Nations sanctions — have sent Iran’s currency into a sharp decline.

Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said the regime’s “unwillingness to be responsive to its people’s basic demands and rights,” is also a factor. Adding that Tehran has a “clear preference to spend the country’s resources on military projects like its proxies, missiles and nuclear program instead of its citizens’ well-being.”

More than 400 demonstrations took place this week alone, with at least 743 recorded over the past month, according to a tracker from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The death toll has reached at least 38, with more than 2,200 arrests reported. The demonstrations are the largest since April 2025 and among the most sustained since late 2022 as videos continue to circulate online of Iranians flooding the streets, burning regime flags and lighting fire to statues of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ruhe said that uprisings by the Iranian people against the regime are not uncommon. “In 2009 it was political corruption, when the regime clearly stole the presidential election to get [former President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad reelected,” he said. “In 2017-18 it was economic and foreign policy issues, for instance Iranians being killed in the Syrian civil war and the regime’s lavish spending on its proxies instead of at home. In 2022 it was social and cultural issues, namely hijab enforcement.”

But experts say what is unfolding now could be more significant than protests of the past, expressing to Jewish Insider that recent developments could pose an unprecedented challenge to a regime already under strain. 

Behnam Ben Taleblu, the senior director of FDD’s Iran program, called the protests a “nationwide anti-regime uprising,” telling JI that they are reaching a “crescendo” with a “greater demographic and geographic group of Iranians protesting.”

“Protests have rapidly spread due to the shared consensus that the Islamic Republic of Iran is behind the demise of Iran,” said Taleblu, who called the demonstrators “historic and different” given how the Iranian people have “not given up” in the face of crackdowns. “This matters for a regime that is battered and bruised.”

Ruhe also said the protests are “different from past waves,” explaining that the regime is less capable of solving the issues of the Iranian people in the current moment. 

“The economic grievances that triggered the current protests are much more clearly beyond the regime’s ability to fix than they might have been years ago, before the effects of the regime’s corruption and mismanagement had reached the point where the country is running out of electricity and water and its money is absolutely worthless,” said Ruhe. 

The ayatollah’s fears are also likely heightened by the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela that ousted President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. pursuing similar actions in Iran is unlikely, however, Iranian officials have expressed concerns that their regime in Tehran could be next. President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. is watching the protests “very closely.” 

In response, the Iranian regime has vowed to crack down against protesters, with Khamenei stating last week that they must be “put in their place.” The regime also appeared to cut off internet access on Thursday. But none of these methods have seemed to quell the unrest, with recent reports suggesting Khamenei could flee Tehran for Moscow if security forces become overwhelmed by protests.

Nadav Eyal wrote that the continued protests could indicate that “fear has shifted sides” from the people of Iran to the regime itself.

“The oppressors are no longer as certain as they once were in using force. They cannot compete with sheer numbers, with masses filling the streets,” Eyal wrote on X. “The Islamic Republic still possesses formidable repressive capacity. Yet the signals — hesitation, mixed messaging, demonstration of fear by cutting internet — suggest a leadership aware that it may no longer be able to rely on obedience.”

TOKYO — As Japan decided against recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen told Jewish Insider in a wide-ranging interview in Tokyo that he is appreciative of Japan, “an important factor of the international community.” 

On Friday evening, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya called his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, to update him that after weeks of deliberation, Japan decided it will not recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA. 

“Sa’ar appreciated [the] decision and briefed [Iwaya] about Israel’s actions against Hamas chiefs in Qatar and IDF operations in Gaza,” Cohen told JI. “I join my foreign minister in appreciating Japan, a member of the G7, and an important factor of the international community, and for the deep friendship of our nations.” 

“A recognition of a Palestinian state would be a reward to Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, would not contribute to peace and would not build on the trust of Israelis in the future,” he said. In recent weeks, Cohen relayed that message to Japanese ministers as the country weighed recognizing a Palestinian state as several governments, including those in Britain, France, Australia and Canada, have announced plans to do at the UNGA.

“This recognition is null and void because when you acknowledge a state there have to be conditions — what are the boundaries? Do you have effective control of the population? Nothing about that works with the Palestinians,” Cohen told JI. “Are they going to dismantle Hamas? Are they going to continue paying salaries for families of suicide bombers? Are they going to continue to have pacts with Iran against Israel? Is there going to be a repetition of Oct. 7 because they have a state? We are the Jewish people, we always have to be concerned and worried.” 

For Cohen, who assumed office as ambassador of Israel to Japan in October 2021 following a stint as deputy director general for Asia and Pacific division in the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan’s consideration of recognizing a Palestinian state has been one of only a few disagreements he’s held with local politicians since arriving in Tokyo. In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, “the Japanese government stood by Israel, called for an immediate and unconditional release of our hostages and said publicly that Hamas should be dismantled,” Cohen said.

“I thank the Japanese for acknowledging that Hamas is a terrorist organization and for saying that Iran is the number one destabilizer of the region. I want to thank the Japanese government for standing on the right side of history.”

When war broke out between Israel and Hamas soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Japan, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, “was trying to influence the release of the hostages and not to [attack] Israel. They were not mediating, but there were messages Japan was trying to deliver for both sides in order to bring our hostages back,” Cohen recalled. 

Looking ahead to the postwar period, Cohen suggested that Japan will contribute to rebuilding the Palestinian economy. “We will welcome any kind of investment in the Palestinian economy to revive it,” he said. “Economy is a major part of the vision of Palestinians living side by side with Israelis in peace and security.”  

While tourism from Japan to Israel has seen a decline amid the war, Cohen said that joint business ventures between the two countries have increased over the past two years, as Israeli tech companies engage with Japan’s industrial giants and venture capital networks.

“Investments from Japanese companies in Israel were much higher in 2024 than 2023, including in AI and technology,” he said. “There is a saying that Israel can do things from zero to one and Japanese can take them from one to 10. Israeli innovation and startups can be combined with Japanese wisdom, experience and production ability that Israel doesn’t have.”

When it comes to creating cars, for example, an area that Japan is a global leader in, “Israel should focus on the brain of the car, systems that prevent accidents such as Waze and Mobileye,” said Cohen. “The synergy that we can learn from Japan — and we can share our experience with them — I see a lot of potential in economic relations. Japanese companies are looking at Israeli startups with great interest. In the last two and a half years, there have been direct flights from Israel to Japan, which is important because businessmen and investors do not have time to waste. This is an engine for connecting the people of Israel and Japan.” 

Israel is among the handful of countries that Japan has a free trade deal with, an agreement signed by Cohen in March 2023. It allows 200 Israelis to come to Japan annually on a visa for one year of work, study and travel. At the same time, 200 Japanese citizens can come to Israel for one year to do the same.

Cohen sees himself not only as an ambassador of Israel “but also as representing the Jewish people in Japan,” he said, describing a small but vibrant community. Tokyo is home to two Chabad houses and a Jewish community center, which runs a pluralistic synagogue. The cities of Kyoto and Kobe also each have a Chabad. All five centers primarily cater to tourists. 

It can be a challenge to navigate Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness in a country with limited historical exposure to those issues, Cohen said, recommending that all Japanese visit the Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama City, near Hiroshima. 

“The Japanese government comes to commemorate our Holocaust memorial days,” Cohen told JI. “They give thanks to [Chiune] Sugihara,” he said, referring to the Japanese diplomat who, while posted in Lithuania, saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. “We are participating in ceremonies to commemorate him. In Japan, he became a hero.”

“I see a lot of potential in the future when things calm down in the region,” continued Cohen. “I would like to have future agreements signed with Japan to boost the economy on both sides. I have many things on my agenda, but this will be after Rosh Hashanah.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified his remarks that Israel’s economy may “need to adapt to … autarkic characteristics” on Tuesday, after a dip in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Netanyahu made his original comments at a conference held by the Israeli Finance Ministry on Monday, where he said that “Israel is in a sort of isolation,” and that he hates the idea that Israel will have to behave like an autarky, or self-reliant economy.

“I believe in the free market, but we may find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked. We will need to develop arms industries here — not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need … There’s no choice,” he said, adding that Israel will need to be “Athens and super-Sparta.” 

Israeli markets dropped in response, and business and industry leaders came out against Netanyahu’s remarks, saying that “an autarkic economy will be a disaster for Israel,” and “this vision … will make it hard for us to survive in a developing globalized world.” 

A day later, Netanyahu called a press conference to do damage control amid the widespread concern in Israel, clarifying that his comments were specific to the Israeli defense industry. 

In the defense industry, he said “there are limitations that are not economic, but political.”

“If there’s one lesson from this war, it is that we want to be in a situation where we are not limited. We want to defend ourselves by ourselves and with our own weapons,” Netanyahu stated. “We are going to produce an independent arms industry that is very strong that can withstand any political constraints.”

Israel will “build a defense industry that will match the best in the world,” he added. “You saw some — not even all — of it in the 12-day war with Iran.”

The prime minister also talked about Israel working on technology for underground warfare.

Netanyahu said western European countries implementing arms embargoes against Israel are  “pressured by minorities in which some are very extreme,” as well as “advanced propaganda against us.”

Netanyahu said that his intention in the speech at the Finance Ministry was to tell its workers that “we are aiming for security independence and I asked them to cut bureaucracy.”

“Within that [speech], there was a misunderstanding,” he said.

“A concentrated, closed market is not what I usually like,” he said. “I turn to the markets. But we are using all of the means needed to create a strong defense industry.”

Netanyahu expressed “full faith in Israel’s economy.” 

“Israel’s economy is very strong,” he said. “It has amazed the whole world in recent decades and more than amazed the world in the last two years, in which we are fighting a war. … Against all predictions, the shekel is stronger than it was before the war … Unemployment is at a historic low. In recent months, there is a large flow of investors in the Israeli economy.”

Netanyahu presented graphs showing the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange rising at a higher rate than the S&P, that the shekel is strong against the dollar and GDP per capita is rising, that Israel’s debt to GDP rate is lower than that of the U.S. and the average for advanced economies, and that Israel is second in the world — after the U.S. — in receiving foreign investments for research and development.

“I don’t underestimate the attempts to economically isolate us, but the world wants the products that Israel makes,” he added, mentioning artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. “This is the health, the vibrancy of Israel’s economy. This is a very powerful economy, an economy of 10 million people, but very gifted people.” 

In the press conference, Netanyahu also said he had spoken on the phone with President Donald Trump several times since Israel’s strike aimed at Hamas leaders in Qatar last week, including one in which the president invited him to the White House.

Netanyahu said he will be meeting with Trump in Washington on Sept. 29.

Following the press conference, Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader, said that Netanyahu “lost contact with reality.”

“You cannot run a market when there is no trust in the government and no trust in the prime minister,” Lapid said. “On Netanyahu’s watch and that of the current government, Israel’s credit rating was lowered for the first time in history, and then it happened again. There is a sharp reduction in Israeli exports. There is a sharp decrease in investment from abroad. High-tech, the engine of the market, is in an unprecedented crisis.”