Israel launched a targeted military operation in Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear facilities and striking “at the heart” of Tehran’s ballistic missile programme, calling it “Operation Rising Lion”.
Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address said that the “Operation Rising Lion” will continue for as many days as needed to remove the threat.
Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility at Natanz, adding that Israel had also hit Iranian nuclear scientists “working on the Iranian bomb.”
What is Operation Rising Lion?
The Operation announced by the Israeli PM on Friday was aimed to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.
Netanyahu said that the goal of the operation was to strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile factories, and military capabilities.
“We can’t leave these threats for the next generation,” Netanyahu said, adding, “Because if we don’t act now, there will not be another generation. If we don’t act now, we simply won’t be here.”
As Iran planned to produce 20,000 such missiles within six years, Israel is operating to remove them as well, Netanyahu said as he announced “Operation Rising Lion”.
This was just the first stage of strikes, according to the Israeli military. The initial strikes included attacks on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.
The IDF has been conducting a lengthy process of assessments and preparations for the campaign at the front and in the rear.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon said, Israel launched Operation “Rising Lion” against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure with the aim of eliminating an existential and immediate threat to the citizens of Israel and the entire world.