Declaring the launch of Operation Rising Lion aimed at foiling Iran's nuclear ambitions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Friday that his country has struck at the heart of the Islamic regime's nuclear programme, including its main enrichment facility in Natanz.

"Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat," Netanyahu said in a video message in the early hours of Friday.

"For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly, openly, called for Israel's destruction. They have backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a programme to develop nuclear weapons. In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly-enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine," the Israeli prime minister claimed.

"In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before. Steps to weaponise this enriched uranium. And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year, it could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival," he claimed.

Asserting that Israel has learnt the lessons from the Nazi holocaust and also the message of "Never Again", Netanyahu vowed that his country will not become a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime.

"Israel will never allow those who call for our annihilation to develop the means to achieve those goals. Tonight Israel backs those words with action," he stressed.

"We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic-missile programme," the Israeli prime minister claimed.

He also claimed that besides the nuclear threat Iran poses, it is also working on its missile-development programme, targeting to produce 10,000 of those within three years.

"Imagine 10,000 tonnes of TNT landing on a country the size of New Jersey," he said, justifying the preemptive attack.

"This is an intolerable threat. It too must be stopped. Iran is now working on what it calls the new plan to destroy Israel. You see, the old plan failed. Iran and its proxies tried to encircle Israel with a ring of fire and tried to attack us with the horrible attack of October 7 (last year)," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader praised his soldiers and people for fighting back against threats emanating from the immediate neighbourhood and also lauded US President Donald Trump for his support on not allowing Iran to acquire nuclear capabilities.

Media reports suggest that the US remained uninvolved in the attack as made clear in advance.

Netanyahu also repeated that Israel's "fight is against the brutal dictatorship" in Iran and not against its people.

Emphasising that World War II was a result of the "failure to act" against imminent signs, the Israeli leader revoked lessons from the Bible.

"As the Bible teaches us, when someone comes to kill you, rise and act first.... Generations from now, history will record that our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future," he stressed.

"We have learnt the lessons of never again. When enemies threaten to destroy you, believe them," he added.

Israel has declared a special state of emergency on the home front across the entire country.

Loud sirens wailed across the country around 3 am local time and people could be seen rushing to shelters. Minutes later, they learnt of Israel's preemptive strike.

Published on June 13, 2025