Netanyahu calls Israel's attack on Iran 'very successful opening strike'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described Israel's attack targeting Iran's nuclear installations and senior commanders as "a very successful opening strike".

Israel on Friday launched Operation Rising Lion to strike at Iran's nuclear, missile and military complex. The strikes left key military commanders and nuclear scientists dead.

"We are after a very successful opening strike. With God's help, we are going to have many more achievements," Netanyahu said.

Earlier Netanyahu said Israel struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme.

"We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic missile programme," Netanyahu claimed.

He dubbed Iranian nuclear and missile programmes an "existential threat".

Israeli and Iranian sources confirmed heavy damages to Iran's aerial defence systems and nuclear facility along with the death of Iranian Army Chief of Staff, Mohammad Bagheri, and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that the strikes improve the freedom of action in the air for the Israeli Air Force.

The Israeli Army also released a video from one of the strikes.

Meanwhile, sources said Israel's spy agency Mossad carried out extensive clandestine operations deep inside Iran ahead of the Friday morning airstrikes.

The Mossad-led counter-terrorism operations activated a covert base it had set up there, sources said.

These operations were intended to damage Iran's strategic missile system and its air defence capabilities, they said.

Reacting to Israel's strikes, Iran's armed said that there were no limits in their response.

Now that the terrorist regime occupying Al-Quds (Jerusalem) has crossed all red lines [there are] no limits in responding to this crime, the Iranian armed forces general staff said in a statement.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel will face severe punishment for the attacks. Iran's Armed Forces spokesperson said both the US and Israel would pay dearly.

Iran launched over 100 drones at Israel, the IDF said, which the air force shot down outside Israel's borders. Sirens were also heard in Jordan when drones reached its airspace.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Home Front Command at around 10:50 AM said that the civilians no longer needed to remain close to bomb shelters.

Supermarkets in Israel were flooded with panic buyers looking to stock up on necessary supplies in case of a prolonged need to stay in the shelters.

Mineral water bottles in most supermarkets disappeared very early in the morning as fears of a fierce war gripped the people.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu said the operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove the threat.

"For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly, openly, called for Israel's destruction. They have backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a programme to develop nuclear weapons. In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine," the Israeli prime minister claimed.

"It could be a year, it could be within a few months, or less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival," he claimed.

Netanyahu vowed that his country would not become a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime.