Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mocked the United Kingdom by referring to it as the “Islamic Republic of Britain”, suggesting it could become the first nuclear-armed Islamic republic, during a podcast interview released on August 13, 2026.
Speaking on the bereavement-themed Army Radio podcast Melech Blitzer Haim, hosted by Avi Harush — a former Israeli military officer whose son was killed fighting in Gaza — Netanyahu contrasted historical British support for Israel with present-day attitudes.
He recalled that the son and grandson of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, both journalists, had covered the 1967 Six-Day War in a manner “very positive for us”.
Netanyahu added: “Try finding that in Britain today. What’s called ‘the Islamic Republic of Britain’.”
When the host suggested that much of Europe had already moved in a similar direction, Netanyahu continued: “Someone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain. We are making sure there won’t be another one here, in Iran.”
The remark echoes comments made by then US senator JD Vance on July 11, 2024 at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, when he speculated that Britain under a Labour government could become the first “truly Islamist country” to acquire nuclear weapons.
The podcast was recorded at a studio in Petah Tikva operated by New Vision Production, a company that has worked for Netanyahu’s Likud party ahead of Israel’s October election, rather than at Army Radio’s usual military facilities.
The comments come amid strained relations between the Israeli Government and the UK’s Labour administration over the conflict in Gaza and related diplomatic tensions.
They have drawn criticism in Britain, with broadcaster Piers Morgan among those condemning the remarks, and some Israeli opposition figures questioning the wisdom of the Prime Minister joking about a key Security Council ally.
Netanyahu has long framed preventing a nuclear-armed Iran as a central priority of Israeli policy. Pakistan remains the only Muslim-majority country with nuclear weapons.
VIDEO: Israeli PM Netanyahu on Britain:
You might call Britain the "Islamic Republic of Britain."
Someone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain.
We’re making sure there won’t be another one–you know, in Iran. pic.twitter.com/WP6qQGlTud
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 13, 2026
