Israel says it is close to achieving goals against Iran’s missile and nuclear threats

Israel is nearing its objective of eliminating Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear capabilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, vowing to continue the campaign until those threats are neutralised.

Netanyahu stated that the operation would not be prolonged unnecessarily, but also would not end prematurely. "We won’t pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won't finish too soon. When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop," he told Israeli reporters.

He said Israel was acting to remove what he called two "concrete threats" to the country’s existence.

"I have no doubt that this is a regime that wants to wipe us out, and that's why we embarked on this operation to eliminate the two concrete threats to our existence: the nuclear threat, the ballistic missile threat. We are moving step by step towards achieving these goals. We are very, very close to completing them," he said.

Netanyahu also claimed that Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility had suffered serious damage following a U.S. airstrike using bunker-buster bombs. However, he noted the full extent of the damage was still being assessed. Iran has pledged to defend itself "at all costs".

When asked about Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium, Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence was monitoring it closely. "It's an important component of a nuclear programme. It's not the sole component. It's not a sufficient component. But it is an important component and we have interesting intel on that, which you will excuse me if I don't share with you," he said.

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