“In the very near future, you will see Israeli Air Force jets over the skies of Tehran—we will strike every site and every target belonging to the ayatollah regime,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in videoed remarks on Saturday.
Iran’s nuclear program “was dealt a significant blow,” Netanyahu stressed, referring to the Jewish state’s largest-ever attack against its archenemy that commenced on June 13.
The premier noted that the goal of “Operation Rising Lion” is twofold: to dismantle the nuclear and ballistic-missile threats posed by Iran.
Tehran was “racing toward atomic bombs via its nuclear teams with the aim to annihilate Israel,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister responded to media reports that the IDF strikes had not inflicted significant damage on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities. “That’s false. We did [achieve results]. We hit Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility severely,” he said, referring to the Natanz Nuclear Facility.
Israel also struck Iran’s conversion facility, “which is a critical site for making nuclear weapons operation,” Netanyahu continued, referring to the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the city of Isfahan.
He added that the Israel Defense Forces eliminated a list of Iran’s leading nuclear scientists, which might set the country’s nuclear program “many years backward.”
Netanyahu noted that there are “more things that we are going to do, which naturally I cannot disclose.”
Iran planned to manufacture tens of thousands of missiles to be used against Israel, he said.
“We cannot afford an Iran with a production capacity of 20,000 missiles,” the prime minister said, adding that the IDF aims to destroy the Islamic Republic’s production capabilities.
With Iran’s air defense systems en route to Tehran now largely dismantled, “What the Iranians have felt until now is nothing like what they are going to feel in the coming days,” Netanyahu warned.
He addressed Israel’s citizens directly, saying, “I am proud of you. I am proud of your resilience. I am proud of your spirit.
“Despite hits on the home front, you are raising the flag and not giving up. Unfortunately, we sustained three casualties of three dear citizens yesterday. I share the families’ grief, and I urge the citizens to adhere to the Home Front Command’s instructions. They save lives,” he said.
“We are in a fateful battle for our existence, and we will fight until victory is achieved,” the prime minister said.