Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that a recent air strike by Israeli forces has significantly weakened Iran’s ability to defend itself and produce missiles, The Times of Israel reports.
“The air force attacked Iran. We have hit Iran’s defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles aimed at us,” Netanyahu said in his speech.
According to the Israeli military, dozens of planes carried out three waves of air strikes at dawn on Saturday, in particular on targets near Tehran and in western Iran.
Addressing the people of Iran, Netanyahu stressed that Israel’s struggle is not against the Iranian people, but against the regime that oppresses them and threatens the region. “The regime must understand a simple thing: if someone harms us, we will respond in kind,” he said.
Netanyahu also thanked the Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Mossad, the head of military intelligence and the commander of the Israeli Air Force, but did not mention Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, with whom he often has political differences.
The prime minister thanked the United States for its close coordination and support, noting that the return of Israeli hostages, dead or alive, remains a “sacred mission” for Israel.
To recap, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted to the events, calling on the Iranian authorities to choose the best way to demonstrate force in response in a statement broadcast by IRNA. “The evil committed by the Zionist regime should be neither understated nor exaggerated,” Khamenei said, adding that Iran would respond to the attack in accordance with the interests of its nation.
Iranian officials tried to downplay the significance of the strike, saying it caused only minor damage.
