The Israeli Airforce (IAF) last night (Thursday, June 12) launched a wave of strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Jewish State’s avowed determination to stop the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran is sworn to the destruction of Israel and is considered as the Jewish State’s worst enemy since Hitler.
Israel fears a nuclear weapon in Iranian hands is an existential threat to its land and people.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in early assessment of the strike, described it as ‘very successful’, according to a report by the Times of Israel (ToI).
“We struck the senior command, we struck senior scientists that advance development of nuclear weapons, we struck nuclear installations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, sitting alongside Defense Minister, Israel Kat;, Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer; Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich; Shas party chief, Aryeh Deri, and National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.
“We are racking up achievements, but I know, and you know, there are no easy wars.,” he continued, adding that Israelis may have to spend “far longer periods in shelters than we were accustomed to until now.”
Iranian Sate media said Israeli airstrikes targeted three military sites in the country’s northwest.
“Three military sites in the East Azerbaijan province were attacked by the Zionist regime,” the state television channel reported, quoting the province’s crisis management department, according the AFP.
The Israeli Air Force has so far carried out five waves of strikes in Iran, a military official told The Times of Israel, adding that hundreds of strikes have been carried out in total.
The IDF said earlier it was striking Iranian nuclear sites, military sites, and top military and nuclear officials.
*Iran’s Military chief, Bagheri killed in strike
The chief of Iran’s military, Mohammad Bagheri, was killed in an Israeli strike, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, but the report was yet to be confirmed by other media in the country, according to ToI.
*Why we struck, by Israeli military
Iran has been secretly advancing a plan for the “technological advancement of all parts of the development of a nuclear weapon,” the Israeli military said, after launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“In recent months, accumulated intelligence information has provided evidence that the Iranian regime is approaching the point of no return,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The convergence of the Iranian regime’s efforts to produce thousands of kilograms of enriched uranium, alongside decentralized and fortified enrichment compounds in underground facilities, enables the Iranian regime to enrich uranium to military-grade levels, enabling the regime to obtain a nuclear weapon within a short period of time,” the military said.
It added that “in the framework of this plan, senior nuclear scientists in Iran have been working to secretly develop all components needed for developing a nuclear weapon.
“In recent months, this program has accelerated significantly, bringing the regime significantly closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. This is clear evidence that the Iranian regime is operating to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“The State of Israel has been left with no choice. The IDF has the obligation to act in defense of the civilians of Israel and will continue to do so,” the military said.
*Herzog: Israel’s Iran strikes to ‘neutralize an immediate, existential threat to our people’
Israel embarked on an operation to “neutralize an immediate and existential threat to our people,” says President Isaac Herzog.
“The Iranian regime — at the helm of a global terror empire — has continued to radicalize and destabilize the region with its proxies, while working relentlessly to advance its military nuclear capabilities, and expand its ballistic missile arsenal,” he wrote on X.
Herzog said that Iranian leaders “have made no secret of their openly repeated intention to annihilate the State of Israel. For years, the regime has prepared to turn that vision into reality.”
He stressed Israel’s “inherent right and the solemn duty to defend itself, and will always do so with determination and clarity.”
*Iran vows retaliation
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Israel would face a “severe punishment” over its strikes on the country.
Khamenei’s statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency confirmed that top military officials and scientists had been killed in the strikes that also targeted nuclear and military sites.
Israel “opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centers,” Khamenei said.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it.”
*Reports: US told Israel it would not provide offensive support for Iran strike
The US told Israel it would not participate in any potential strike on Iran’s nuclear program in the coming days, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Axios.
The Journal cited an official with knowledge of the matter as saying Washington would not provide any offensive support for an Israeli strike while Axios quoted two US sources and an Israeli official as saying the same.
However, according to Axios, it is still possible that the US offered other support, including in logistics and intelligence, while adding that it is likely to assist Israel in defending itself from any Iranian retaliation, should a strike take place.
*US working to rebuild regional coalition but some Iranian missiles expected to get through, Israeli official says
The United States had known about the planned operation for at least a week, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel, stressing that Israel and the US were “continuously involved.”
The Americans are working to rebuild the regional coalition that confronted the previous Iranian attacks on Israel.
Israel, however, expects some Iranian missiles to get through, according to an official. (Courtesy: AN, ToI, AFP, Reuters, IRNA)
