Egypt Daily News – A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had killed more than 30 Iranian security officials and 11 nuclear experts in a major blow to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions during a 12-day air war against Iran.
The official stated that the opening Israeli strike on June 13, launched from 1,500 kilometers away, severely damaged Iran’s air defenses and disrupted its ability to respond during the crucial early hours of the conflict. According to him, the Israeli Air Force hit more than 900 targets, and the Israeli military dealt significant damage to Iran’s missile production capacity during the war, which ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
“The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow. The regime’s ability to enrich uranium to 90 percent was neutralized for a long period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core was also neutralized,” the official said.
Iran, which denies seeking to build nuclear weapons, responded to the strikes with a barrage of missiles targeting Israeli military sites and cities. Iran claimed it ended the war by penetrating Israel’s defenses.
Iranian authorities reported that 627 people were killed inside Iran. The exact scale of damage could not be independently verified due to strict media restrictions. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel.
Defense Minister Katz stated on Friday that he had instructed the military to draft a plan to maintain air superiority over Iran, prevent it from developing nuclear weapons and producing missiles, and counter its support for armed operations against Israel.
