Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, June 13, causing unprecedented destruction in Iran. Israel stated that due to many of Iran’s anti-aircraft systems being destroyed, they have established aerial operational freedom in certain regions of Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that compared to the impending strikes in the coming days, the military strikes by Israel against Iran so far have been insignificant.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin stated that on Friday night, over 70 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in strikes on Tehran.
“The road to Tehran has been paved. We targeted over forty locations across Tehran, including missiles, advanced anti-aircraft systems, and additional control and launch infrastructure. Our Air Force aircraft flew over Tehran for approximately two and a half hours, with round-the-clock drones also flying in the area, deployed for combat assistance and intelligence gathering,” he said.
“Tehran can no longer escape, the capital faces Israel’s attacks,” Defrin said. “Due to our initial strikes destroying many of Iran’s anti-aircraft systems, dozens of (Israeli) aircraft can freely fly over Tehran.”
“This is the first time Israeli Air Force aircraft have operated in this region. This is the deepest area we have operated in Iran so far. Aircraft have the freedom to fly until conducting surprise attacks,” he said. “We have established aerial operational freedom from western Iran to Tehran, which will enable us to take action and thwart threats against the nation of Israel.”
Defrin also mentioned that Iran’s attack on central Israel resulted in three deaths and 76 injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday, June 14, that the Israeli military had caused “serious damage” to Iran’s nuclear facilities in the past two days of airstrikes.
He released a video statement saying, “We also targeted the senior scientific team leading these (nuclear) programs,” and stated that the attacks have set back Iran’s nuclear program by several years.
He added, “Ballistic missiles also pose a significant threat,” calling these warheads another means Iran seeks to destroy Israel. He said Israel is eradicating Iran’s capability to produce such weapons.
“We will target every objective of the Ayatollah regime,” Netanyahu said, adding that compared to the impending strikes in the coming days, the military strikes conducted against Iran so far have been insignificant.