Iran could have built ‘15 nuclear bombs within days', says Israel after strike

Telegraph

a day ago

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Israel has launched airstrikes against Iran, saying the regime has enough material to build 15 nuclear bombs 'within days'.
In what could be the opening salvo of a regional war, explosions lit up the skyline in Tehran, as jets attacked both nuclear and conventional regime targets – without the support of the US.
Blasts were heard in Natanz, one of two known nuclear underground sites, according to state television.
The headquarters of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also ablaze, in a sign that Israel is targeting key elements of the regime, not just military infrastructure.
Iranian state media confirmed that Hossein Salami, the IRGC commander, was killed in Thursday night's airstrikes.
Iran's state TV said nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in an Israeli strike earlier this morning.
Early on Friday, Israel was braced for a retaliatory missile and drone attack.
'We are at a decisive moment in Israel's history,' said Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video address.
'We are defending the free world from the terrorism and barbarism that Iran fosters and exports across the globe.'
Confirming that the IDF had struck Iran's main enrichment facility at Natanz, targeting leading scientists in the process, the Prime Minister added that 'This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat of annihilation against us.'
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
"Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival.
This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat." pic.twitter.com/3c8oF1GCYa
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 13, 2025
The attacks come despite ongoing talks between Iranian and US negotiators to broker a nuclear deal.
Earlier on Thursday, Donald Trump said he did not want the strikes to happen and warned of 'massive conflict' in the Middle East.
It is currently unknown if the US was warned in advance. Marco Rubio, the American Secretary of State, confirmed the US was not involved in the strike.
Israel said it decided to attack after intelligence indicated that the Islamic republic was closing on a bomb despite the ongoing talks.
A military official said: 'Nuclear scientists and senior officials in Iran have been working to secretly develop all components needed for developing a nuclear weapon – explosive materials, the core - enriched uranium- and neutron source'.
'In accordance with this decision, the regime has enough fission material for 15 nuclear bombs within days.
'In recent months, secret attempts to assemble this have been made with the approval of the regime.'
Mr Netanyahu said Iran already had enough enriched uranium for nine nuclear bombs.
Israel said the decision was taken also because of Iran's plans to 'triple' its stockpiles of conventional ballistic missiles, which were described as an 'existential threat' to the state of Israel.
Renewed attempts by Iran to arm terrorist proxies in the region for attacks against Israel further played into the decision.
Mr Netanyahu said the Islamic republic had plans to accumulate 20,000 missiles within six years.
According to Israeli sources, these elements amounted to a new strategy after Iran's decades-long policy of fighting by proxies was heavily set back last year, with defeats for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
'We can't leave these threats for the next generation,' he continues. 'Because if we don't act now, there will not be another generation. If we don't act now, we simply won't be here,' said Mr Netanyahu in a video address. 'Never Again' is now,
A military source said: 'If we don't act now, with each day we will have less chance. We have a gun to our head. We are nearing the point of no return.'
Previously, analysts believed that Iran had enriched uranium to more than 60 per cent, putting it within 'weeks' of building a crude nuclear warhead.
Israeli strategists are known to have been agitating for a strike during a favourable military window created by the IDF's destruction of Iran's S-300 air defence systems last autumn.
The effective defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon also means Israel can attack with less fear of retaliation on its northern communities.
However, the whole of Israel was tonight put on high alert for an Iranian retaliatory barrage of ballistic missiles, with an order prohibiting educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, except for essential sectors.
Flights to and from Israel have also been suspended.
The chief of the Home Front Command, Maj Gen. Rafi Milo, said: 'Movement and travel should be minimised. We are facing intense and complex days. We are strong and prepared to safeguard and defend the State of Israel.'
Sirens wailed across Israel at 3am local time to alert the population of the change to what is effectively war footing.
Previously, attacking Iran without an explicit green light from the US would have been considered unthinkable by most Israeli strategists.
Although Mr Trump himself threatened to bomb Iran repeatedly before the talks started, he is thought to want a deal with Tehran in order to avoid a war and establish his legacy as a statesman.
Israel said it is prepared to defend itself from Iran's expected retaliation.
However, its sophisticated missile defence system can become overwhelmed, and military chiefs would prefer active US support in fending off ballistic missiles.
Israel has been at war on several fronts since October 7 2023 and is currently embarked on an expanded offensive in Gaza. Israel has placed all Palestinian towns in the West Bank under lockdown until further notice, and mobilised troops near its northern border to defend against an attack, if needed.
Senator Jack Reed, a senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, criticised the strikes as 'reckless escalation' that put the region and American forces at risk.
On Thursday the US prepared to evacuate non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad, which is vulnerable to Iranian retaliation, and issued an order restricting the movement of its staff within Israel.
A number of Iranian civilians have been killed in the strikes so far, according to Iranian state media.
Dozens of commercial airliners were in Iranian airspace when the attacks started, according to flight tracking websites.