Benjamin Netanyahu reveals Israel is ‘very close’ to eliminating Iran nuclear threat after US strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Israel is “very close” to dismantling Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities after the US dropped bombs on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday (local time), Mr Netanyahu said Israel is “moving step by step towards achieving these goals”.

“We won’t pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won’t finish too soon,” he said.

“When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop.”

“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.”

Mr Netanyahu also asserted that the US strikes caused substantial damage to Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, a heavily fortified underground uranium enrichment site.

The United Nations atomic watchdog has since confirmed Iran’s nuclear site at Isfahan has suffered “extensive” damage following the strikes.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi attended an emergency UN meeting to deliver an update on the damage to the three nuclear sites.

Mr Grossi said there has been “extensive additional damage” at the Isfahan site, which had already been struck numerous times by Israel since 13 June.

He confirmed the attacks damaged “entrances to underground tunnels at the site” and other buildings, adding that several had already been targets of previous strikes.

Mr Grossi said Fordow was also directly impacted but the damage is still unknown as the site “was not immediately possible to access in view of its underground location and the penetrating nature of the bombs used”.

The Fordow fuel enrichment facility is buried deep within a mountain about 30km north of the city of Qom.

The atomic watchdog said the Natanz facility, located south-east of Tehran, was hit with “ground-penetrating munitions” by the US military, causing more damage after Israel had previously struck the site.

The IAEA revealed it had been informed by Iranian authorities that there was “no increase in off-site radiation levels” after the attacks.