The Israeli military has carried out several waves of air strikes targeting nuclear facilities and military sites across Iran, killing senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists in a large-scale attack that raises fears of an all-out war in the region.
In a prerecorded video message posted early Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at hurting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories.
“This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat of annihilation against us,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli military confirmed to The Times of Israel newspaper it had “launched an aerial campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme” in an operation dubbed “Rising Lion”.