Israel strikes ‘at heart’ of Iran’s nuclear program, Netanyahu says
Israel’s attack on Iran, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” will “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” the Israeli prime minister said.
(June 12, 2025 / JNS)
Dozens of Israeli jets attacked dozens of targets, including military and nuclear sites, in Tehran in a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive” strike on Iran’s nuclear program early in the morning on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said that the attack was based on “high-quality intelligence” and came “in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the operation, dubbed “Rising Lion,” would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” He added that it will “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz,” Netanyahu said. “We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.
“Remember, Iran calls Israel the ‘small Satan.’ It calls America the ‘great Satan,’ and this is why for decades, it’s led millions in the chants of ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America,’” he added. “Today, Israel is responding to those genocidal calls with action and with a call of our own. ‘Long live Israel and long live America.’
“Our action will help make the world a much safer place,” he said.
