Israel ‘seriously damaged’ Iranian nuclear facilities, PM Netanyahu says on Day 2 of Iran War
Netanyahu asserts that Israel managed to damage nuclear & missile threats
After nearly two days of war against the Iranian regime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that Israel had already dealt “serious damage” to the “dual threat” of the regime’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile array.
Responding to claims by foreign media outlets that Israel had so far not significantly damaged Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Netanyahu said, “That’s a mistake.”
Map of Israel's major strikes during operation rising lion
— Zineb Riboua (@zriboua) June 14, 2025
A calculated blend of targeted strikes and leadership decapitation has shattered the coherence of Iran’s military command.
Report: https://t.co/elRFXGSDdU pic.twitter.com/mPE8NjmRL9
“We did very serious damage to Iran’s central [uranium] enrichment site, we hit the conversion facility, which is necessary for weaponizing nuclear bombs, and we also hit the leading team of scientists who lead these projects.”
Netanyahu added that this would set back the nuclear program by “many years.”
“There are more things that we will do,” the prime minister vowed, without going into detail.
🔴 ELIMINATED: 9 senior scientists and experts responsible for advancing the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 14, 2025
All of the eliminated scientists and experts, eliminated based on intelligence, were key factors in the development of Iranian nuclear weapons.
Their… pic.twitter.com/B33dGTyG1v
The IDF so far acknowledged striking Iran's enrichment site in Natanz and the conversion facility in Isfahan.
“At the site, a process of ‘reconversion’ of enriched uranium takes place. This is the stage after uranium enrichment in the nuclear weapons production process. The strike dismantled a facility for producing metallic uranium, infrastructure for reconverting enriched uranium, laboratories, and additional infrastructure,” according to an IDF statement.
Regarding Natanz, the IDF stated that it is “the largest uranium enrichment site in Iran, which has operated for years to achieve nuclear weapons capability and houses the infrastructure required for enriching uranium to military-grade levels.”
“As part of the strikes, the underground area of the site was damaged. This area contains a multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms, and additional supporting infrastructure. In addition, critical infrastructure enabling the site's continuous operation and the Iranian regime's ongoing efforts to obtain nuclear weapons were targeted.”
📸New high-resolution satellite images published by @Maxar show multiple buildings were destroyed at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility from recent airstrikes. See here before and after: pic.twitter.com/NNVZ4MhvEv
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) June 14, 2025
In addition, the IDF confirmed the assassination of nine senior scientists in the regime’s nuclear weapons program.
“All of the eliminated scientists and experts served as significant knowledge centers in the Iranian nuclear project and possessed decades of accumulated experience in the development of nuclear weapons,” the IDF reported.
The second point Netanyahu raised was the “major threat” of ballistic missiles.
A senior Israeli intelligence source told Fox News on Saturday that Iran currently possesses around 2,000 ballistic missiles and is projected to expand its arsenal to 8,000 within two years – a key factor driving Israel’s decision to strike now.
“Every such missile that hits, you’ve seen what it does,” the prime minister said. “Imagine if Iran had 20,000 such missiles; that’s their plan. They see this as another component, next to the nuclear issue, to destroy the state of Israel.”
Israel, therefore, embarked on a mission to destroy the regime’s capabilities to produce ballistic missiles in large quantities, he added.
After its initial barrage of some 100 drones was completely thwarted, the Iranian regime retaliated on Friday evening and Saturday morning by launching four large barrages at Israel – each containing dozens of missiles.
Three Israelis died as a result of missile impacts and some 80 others were wounded, most of them only lightly. Two of the victims have been identified as Etti Cohen Engel and Yisrael Aloni.
המלצה שרצה עכשיו בוואטסאפ. הגיונית לגמרי. שווה לקרוא ולהתנהל בהתאם.
— ש𝕏ולי 🎗️🏳️🌈 Sh𝕏uLi (@Shaulirena) June 14, 2025
‼️ חשוב ומציל חיים ‼️
צהרים טובים, אני מתנדבת בגדוד החילוץ של עיריית רמת גן ואתמול הייתי בלילה באזור הנפילה והנה כמה המלצות, דעתי האישית בלבד - שאם חס וחלילה טפו טפו יש פגיעה באזור שלכם מאוד יקלו על החיים.
1.… pic.twitter.com/XZOubz3Myn
According to Army Radio, around 50 of the 200 missiles were not successfully intercepted by Israel's aerial defense system and exploded in open areas without causing significant damage. Only around 10 missiles penetrated the air defenses, despite attempts to shoot them down.
“The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and creating a reality in which they, especially the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal attack on Israeli civilians,” said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
“If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” he warned. The military estimates that Iran will continue to launch missile barrages if it is able to, according to Israeli media reports.
From nuclear sites to air defense systems, we’ve dismantled some of Iran’s most dangerous military assets.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 14, 2025
Here’s a breakdown of the key targets struck across Iran: pic.twitter.com/ppRJzwW8uz
Despite other major accomplishments of Israel’s air campaign, its most important achievement so far has been establishing air superiority along a broad corridor from the western border to Tehran by destroying all relevant air defense systems.
According to the IDF, dozens of aircraft operated above Tehran for over two hours on Saturday. Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed this would continue, saying, “Very soon, you will see IAF planes above Tehran’s skies. We will hit every target of the ayatollahs’ regime,” and warning that the IDF's actions would continue to escalate.
“Everything is progressing according to plan – in fact, even better than planned,” the intelligence source told Fox News. “We have a lot of surprises. Not only what we have already done – we have more surprises on the way.”
“Operation Rising Lion” began at approximately 3 a.m. on Friday morning with simultaneous strikes on dozens of high-ranking military leaders.
Israeli intelligence now estimates that at least 30 commanders were killed. “This is a historic achievement,” the intelligence official said.
He added that the U.S. is “fully coordinated” with Israel. “The way the United States is standing by Israel is unprecedented,” he said.
He also estimated that the war could end “in a matter of days… It’s good to have the United States on our side.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
