Israel is beginning a bombing campaign against Iran in response to fears that the Islamic Republic is nearing the development of nuclear weapons. In a statement Thursday night, the Israeli Defense Forces say the country cannot take the risk of allowing Iran to develop the bomb.
“Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” the IDF said in a post on X. “Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world.”
“The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past,” they say.
The IDF says that “dozens” of jets took part in attacks on “dozens” of targets within Iran’s territory.
Addressing the nation shortly after the bombing campaign began, Prime Minister Netanyahu said “Operation Rising Lion” was targeted at those facilities and officials who were involved in Iran’s nuclear development program. He says the “clear and present danger” of Iran’s bomb made the military operation necessary.
“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,” Mr. Netanyahu said in his speech. “We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists, working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.”
The Israeli government believes with a high degree of certainty that they eliminated a number of high-ranking military officials and government scientists as part of the operation. Among those believed to have been killed include the chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Mohammad Bagheri.
According to an Iranian television report, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, was killed. Among other targets for elimination were top Iranian scientists involved in the nuclear program.
On Thursday the global nuclear watchdog, known as the IAEA, censured Iran for violating its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The resolution followed a report by the agency’s chief, Rafael Grossi, which said he could not determine that Iran’s nuclear program is civilian. The report indicated that Iran is close to military nuclear capabilities. As Iran has long vowed to erase the “Zionist entity” off the map, Israel considers a nuclear Iran a major threat.
A spokesman for the IDF, Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a video message that Israel has intelligence showing Iran is nearing the development of a bomb, and that the government is prepared to use it.
“The state of Israel has the right and obligation to operate in order to protect its people,” he said. “The IDF conducted significant preparations for this operation. We are well-prepared, both in defense and offense.”
President Trump has been advocating for a negotiated settlement with the Iranians. On Thursday night, Secretary Rubio said in a statement that the United States was in no way involved in the Israeli bombing campaign.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense,” Mr. Rubio said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
