'Never again is now': Netanyahu as Israel launches strikes on Iran's nuclear, missile sites

Tel Aviv : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced the launch of a large-scale military campaign, Operation Rising Lion, aimed at dismantling what he described as an existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Netanyahu said Israel had struck multiple high-value Iranian targets in a decisive first strike. "Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival," he said, adding that the mission would continue "for as many days as it takes to remove this threat."

The Israeli leader accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons programme in defiance of global warnings, pointing to enriched uranium stockpiles capable of producing multiple nuclear bombs. "In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine," he noted, warning that Tehran had taken "steps to weaponise this enriched uranium" and could develop a nuclear weapon within months.