Prior to US strikes on Iran, Israeli strikes dealt a ‘severe blow’

The long-term goal is to fundamentally change the reality of the Iranian threat by crippling its strategic programs.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

Before successful American bombing attacks on key Iranian nuclear sites Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz early on Sunday, Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” dealt a “severe blow” to Iran’s ability to produce centrifuges for uranium enrichment, and has rendered more than half —some 200 —of its surface-to-surface missile arsenal inoperable, Israeli assessments have found.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the sites targeted by American B-2 bombers were “totally obliterated” and warned that the United States would hit other targets if Iran retaliated.

Since the Israeli air campaign against Iranian threats began on June 13, the Israeli Air Force has flown over 1,000 strike sorties, using hundreds of aircraft to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure systematically.

The continuous waves of attacks have successfully disrupted Iran’s ability to fire large barrages of missiles by striking storage sites and launchers across western Iran, pushing their remaining capabilities eastward and creating a sense of pursuit among Iranian forces, who have been seen abandoning missile trucks to flee Israeli strikes.

A military official, speaking on Saturday, confirmed that Israel had conducted a second wave of strikes on the Isfahan nuclear site, a key hub for Iran’s nuclear program.

“We targeted two centrifuge production sites in that location and this is coming in addition to a couple more centrifuge production sites that we have been able to strike successfully in recent days,” the official stated.

“At this point, I can say that we have dealt a severe blow to Iran’s centrifuge production capabilities. This strike, alongside other strikes that we carried out throughout the week, has been a significant endeavor.”

The official explained that the campaign is designed to achieve both immediate and long-term effects. The immediate goal is to stop the ongoing missile attacks on Israeli civilians by hunting launchers in real-time, he said.

The long-term goal is to fundamentally change the reality of the Iranian threat by crippling its strategic programs. He noted that the “missile hunting” operations were bearing fruit, resulting in a recent night with “very few ballistic missiles fired towards Israel.”

“For us, the two most important things when we focus on the missile program are the production, which is a long-term goal and the immediate goal is the launchers because the launchers are the bottleneck,” the official said.

“There are many more missiles than launchers…. We’ve been able to take a large percentage of their missile launchers.”

He noted that Israel struck the Isfahan nuclear site twice, once in the first 24 hours of Operation Rising Lion, and a second time overnight between Friday and Saturday, deepening “the damage to the facility.”

Iran’s missile program, if left unhindered, would “would be in itself an existential threat in addition to their nuclear plant program, and in addition to the destruction of Israel [proxy] plan which they were working on all simultaneously,” the official said.

“We are expanding our aerial security and expanding our operations and finding in real time those missile launchers fired towards Israel. We’ve been able to take out a large number of their missile launchers, creating a bottleneck and making it harder for them to fire towards Israel.”

He added, “Having said all that, I want to say that the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities. We are extremely vigilant, extremely humble about our achievements, understanding that we have to stay on guard 24/7. Our aerial defense systems are ready all the time, non-stop since the beginning of this operation, ready for any scenario.”

In a separate briefing on Saturday evening, summarizing the ninth day of Israel’s operation, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin provided further details on the scope of the Israeli air campaign, revealing that Israeli jets had attacked and destroyed three Iranian F-14 fighter jets on the ground in a strike deep inside the country.

“This evening, using about sixty fighter jets and with intelligence guidance, we attacked deep in Iran,” Defrin said. “In addition, we are hitting all components of missile production and preventing the Iranian army from restoring its strategic capabilities. Simultaneously, our forces are deepening the damage to the launch capabilities of the fire arrays.”

Defrin emphasized the success of the air defense effort against Iran’s massive drone assault. “In the last week, they launched more than a thousand UAVs from Iran towards Israeli territory, of which only a few penetrated,” he stated.

“Helicopters, fighter jets, and naval vessels, combined with the air defense systems, encircle the State of Israel at every given moment to thwart infiltration attempts into our territory… This is an unprecedented achievement.”