Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday that Israel’s airstrike on Iran last month targeted a specific element of Tehran’s nuclear program, while also damaging its defense and missile production capabilities.
In a speech to the Israeli parliament, Netanyahu stated, “It’s not a secret. There is a specific component in their nuclear program that was hit in this attack.” However, he did not disclose further details about the specific component targeted. Netanyahu also emphasized that while the attack had caused significant damage, Iran’s path to acquiring a nuclear weapon had not been entirely blocked.
The airstrike, carried out by Israeli fighter jets on October 26, consisted of three waves of attacks on Iranian military sites. This strike came just weeks after Iran launched approximately 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, marking an escalation in the ongoing tensions between the two nations. It followed a similar exchange of attacks in April.
In his address, Netanyahu elaborated on the targets of the recent Israeli strikes, stating that while the April operation was more limited, it focused on destroying one of four Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems located around Tehran. The October strike, he said, destroyed the remaining three S-300 batteries and inflicted substantial damage on Iran’s ballistic missile production capabilities, including its ability to produce solid fuel for long-range missiles.
These airstrikes are part of Israel’s ongoing strategy to disrupt Iran’s military and nuclear development efforts amid rising tensions in the region.
