Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the strikes would continue ‘for as many days as it takes’ to remove the threat.
Israeli warplanes began carrying out airstrikes across Iran in the early morning hours on June 13 in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast as a critical measure to protect his nation.
“Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion–a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said in a televised address shortly after reports emerged of the initial barrage.
In his address, Netanyahu said that Iran had stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to result in nine nuclear warheads, and that Iran could produce its first warhead in just a few months.
Netanyahu vowed the Israeli strike operations would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
The full extent of the damage cannot be independently verified at this time, but the Israeli military said it has relied on high-quality intelligence to precisely target aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.
In his video address, Netanyahu said the strikes targeted the leading Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, and an individual he described as Iran’s leading scientist working on nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed Natanz was among the sites targeted.
“We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” Netanyahu said in his televised address.
Iranian state TV also confirmed Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
Israel Braces for Retaliation
As Israeli warplanes launched their offensive operations on Iran, the Israeli military began advising its citizens to take shelter in anticipation of an Iranian retaliation.
“Civilians of Israel, I can’t promise absolute success—the Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response. The expected toll will be different to what we are used to,” Israeli Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said.
Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in October in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, and for an assassination operation that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
In a Friday morning press statement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “must expect a severe punishment.”
By Ryan Morgan and Joseph Lord
