Tel Aviv, June 23 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel must achieve independence from US military reliance by developing domestic weapons-manufacturing capabilities, a shift he argues is essential for the ongoing conflict with Iran and its regional affiliates.

During a meeting with reserve combat officers in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, Netanyahu said, "I greatly appreciate the support we have received - and that I have secured over the years -- from our American friends. But today I say, we need our own independent weapons-production system. We must manufacture our own armaments."

Addressing the security landscape, he added, "We are now confronting Iran and its proxies. We have struck them hard. It is no...