Tel Aviv, Jun 13: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced that Israel launched Operation Rising Lion against Iran, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat of nuclear weapons to Israel’s very survival.

He asserted that the operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponise this enriched uranium. 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,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Israel launched major airstrikes against Iran in the early hours of Friday morning, significantly escalating tensions in the region and raising the specter of a broader conflict between the long-standing rivals.

The Prime Minister asserted that Israel will never allow anyone who calls for the annihilation of the country to develop the means to achieve that goal.

“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,” Netanyahu added.

The Israeli PM highlighted that last year Iran fired 300 ballistic missiles at Israel, and each of these missiles carried a tonne of explosives and threatened the lives of hundreds of people.

“Soon, those missiles could carry a nuclear payload, threatening the lives not of hundreds, but of millions. Iran is gearing up to produce 10,000 of those ballistic missiles within three years. Now just imagine, imagine 10,000 tonnes of TNT landing on a country the size of New Jersey. This is an intolerable threat. It must be stopped,” Netanyahu said, raising concern.

Asserting that Iran is working on a new plan to destroy Israel, Netanyahu said Iran and its proxies tried to encircle Israel with a ring of fire and launch assaults similar to the horrific attacks on October 7, 2023. He lauded the people of Israel and soldiers rose like Lions and defended the country.

“We crushed Hamas. We devastated Hezbollah. We hit Iranian proxies in Syria and Yemen. And when Iran directly attacked us twice last year, we struck back inside Iran itself. Yet in defending ourselves, we also defend others,” said the Israeli PM.

“We defend our Arab neighbours. They too have suffered from Iran’s campaign of chaos and carnage. Our actions against Iran’s proxy Hezbollah led to the establishment of a new government in Lebanon and the collapse of Assad’s murderous regime in Syria. The peoples of those two countries now have a chance for a different future, a better future,” he added.

Emphasising that the fight is not against Iranians, Netanyahu said, “Our fight is not with you. Our fight is with the brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years. I believe that the day of your liberation is near. And when that happens, the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again.”

He further stated that Israel will not let the world’s most dangerous regime get the world’s most dangerous weapons, adding that Iran plans to give those weapons, nuclear weapons, to its terrorist proxies. He stressed that if that happens, it would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism all too real, and would bring that nuclear nightmare to the cities of Europe and eventually to America.

Appreciating US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said “I want to thank President Trump for his leadership in confronting Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. He has made clear time and again that Iran cannot have a nuclear enrichment programme. Today, it is clear that Iran is just buying for time. It refuses to agree to this basic requirement of peaceful nations. That is why we have no choice but to act. And act now.”

(IANS)

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