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The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Israel 'killed 30 Iran security chiefs, 11 scientists'
Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says in summarising the 12-day air war with Iran. In the United States, an independent expert said a review of commercial satellite imagery showed only a small number of the approximately 30 Iranian missiles that penetrated Israel's air defences managed to hit any militarily significant targets. "Iran has yet to produce missiles that demonstrate great accuracy," Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at the CNA Corporation specialising in satellite imagery, told Reuters. In Israel, the senior military official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defences and destabilised its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict. Israel's air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran's missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official said. "The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90 per cent was neutralised for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralised," the official said. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defences. Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel. Eveleth, the independent US expert, said Iran's missile forces were not accurate enough to destroy small military targets like US-made F-35 jet fighters in their shelters. "Because of this the only targets they can hit with regularity are large cities or industrial targets like the refinery at Haifa," he told Reuters. Iranian missile salvos - which were limited by Israeli air strikes in Iran - did not have the density to achieve high rates of destruction, he wrote on X. "At the current level of performance, there is effectively nothing stopping Israel from conducting the same operation in the future with similar results," he wrote. In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, said on Friday the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Zamir told troops in Gaza an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action. Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says in summarising the 12-day air war with Iran. In the United States, an independent expert said a review of commercial satellite imagery showed only a small number of the approximately 30 Iranian missiles that penetrated Israel's air defences managed to hit any militarily significant targets. "Iran has yet to produce missiles that demonstrate great accuracy," Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at the CNA Corporation specialising in satellite imagery, told Reuters. In Israel, the senior military official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defences and destabilised its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict. Israel's air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran's missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official said. "The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90 per cent was neutralised for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralised," the official said. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defences. Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel. Eveleth, the independent US expert, said Iran's missile forces were not accurate enough to destroy small military targets like US-made F-35 jet fighters in their shelters. "Because of this the only targets they can hit with regularity are large cities or industrial targets like the refinery at Haifa," he told Reuters. Iranian missile salvos - which were limited by Israeli air strikes in Iran - did not have the density to achieve high rates of destruction, he wrote on X. "At the current level of performance, there is effectively nothing stopping Israel from conducting the same operation in the future with similar results," he wrote. In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, said on Friday the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Zamir told troops in Gaza an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action. Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says in summarising the 12-day air war with Iran. In the United States, an independent expert said a review of commercial satellite imagery showed only a small number of the approximately 30 Iranian missiles that penetrated Israel's air defences managed to hit any militarily significant targets. "Iran has yet to produce missiles that demonstrate great accuracy," Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at the CNA Corporation specialising in satellite imagery, told Reuters. In Israel, the senior military official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defences and destabilised its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict. Israel's air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran's missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official said. "The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90 per cent was neutralised for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralised," the official said. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defences. Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel. Eveleth, the independent US expert, said Iran's missile forces were not accurate enough to destroy small military targets like US-made F-35 jet fighters in their shelters. "Because of this the only targets they can hit with regularity are large cities or industrial targets like the refinery at Haifa," he told Reuters. Iranian missile salvos - which were limited by Israeli air strikes in Iran - did not have the density to achieve high rates of destruction, he wrote on X. "At the current level of performance, there is effectively nothing stopping Israel from conducting the same operation in the future with similar results," he wrote. In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, said on Friday the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Zamir told troops in Gaza an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action. Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says in summarising the 12-day air war with Iran. In the United States, an independent expert said a review of commercial satellite imagery showed only a small number of the approximately 30 Iranian missiles that penetrated Israel's air defences managed to hit any militarily significant targets. "Iran has yet to produce missiles that demonstrate great accuracy," Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at the CNA Corporation specialising in satellite imagery, told Reuters. In Israel, the senior military official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defences and destabilised its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict. Israel's air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran's missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official said. "The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90 per cent was neutralised for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralised," the official said. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defences. Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel. Eveleth, the independent US expert, said Iran's missile forces were not accurate enough to destroy small military targets like US-made F-35 jet fighters in their shelters. "Because of this the only targets they can hit with regularity are large cities or industrial targets like the refinery at Haifa," he told Reuters. Iranian missile salvos - which were limited by Israeli air strikes in Iran - did not have the density to achieve high rates of destruction, he wrote on X. "At the current level of performance, there is effectively nothing stopping Israel from conducting the same operation in the future with similar results," he wrote. In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, said on Friday the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Zamir told troops in Gaza an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action.
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Israel 'killed 30 Iran security chiefs, 11 scientists'
Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says in summarising the 12-day air war with Iran. In the United States, an independent expert said a review of commercial satellite imagery showed only a small number of the approximately 30 Iranian missiles that penetrated Israel's air defences managed to hit any militarily significant targets. "Iran has yet to produce missiles that demonstrate great accuracy," Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at the CNA Corporation specialising in satellite imagery, told Reuters. In Israel, the senior military official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defences and destabilised its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict. Israel's air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran's missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official said. "The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90 per cent was neutralised for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralised," the official said. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defences. Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel. Eveleth, the independent US expert, said Iran's missile forces were not accurate enough to destroy small military targets like US-made F-35 jet fighters in their shelters. "Because of this the only targets they can hit with regularity are large cities or industrial targets like the refinery at Haifa," he told Reuters. Iranian missile salvos - which were limited by Israeli air strikes in Iran - did not have the density to achieve high rates of destruction, he wrote on X. "At the current level of performance, there is effectively nothing stopping Israel from conducting the same operation in the future with similar results," he wrote. In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, said on Friday the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Palestinian militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Zamir told troops in Gaza an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action.
7NEWS
5 days ago
- Politics
- 7NEWS
Photos show huge damage to Iran's nuclear facilities after US bomb strikes
Commercial satellite imagery indicates the US attack on Iran's Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged — and possibly destroyed — the deeply buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but there has been no confirmation, experts say. 'They just punched through with these MOPs,' said David Albright, a former UN nuclear inspector who heads the Institute for Science and International Security, referring to the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-busting bombs the US said it dropped. 'I would expect that the facility is probably toast.' But confirmation of the below-ground destruction could not be determined, noted Decker Eveleth, an associate researcher with the CNA Corporation who specialises in satellite imagery. The hall containing hundreds of centrifuges is 'too deeply buried for us to evaluate the level of damage based on satellite imagery', he said. Operation Midnight Hammer also targeted Tehran's main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and struck in Isfahan, the location of the nation's largest nuclear research centre. US President Donald Trump described the hits as 'very successful attacks'. To defend against attacks such as the one conducted by US forces early on Sunday Iranian time, Iran buried much of its nuclear program in fortified sites deep underground, including into the side of a mountain at Fordow. Satellite images show six holes where the bunker-busting bombs appear to have penetrated the mountain, and then ground that looks disturbed and covered in dust. The United States and Israel have said they intend to halt Tehran's nuclear program. But a failure to completely destroy its facilities and equipment could mean Iran could more easily restart the weapons program that US intelligence and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say it shuttered in 2003. Several experts also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the US and UN nuclear inspectors. They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing 'unusual activity' at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance of the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the near weapons-grade 60 per cent highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. 'I don't think you can with great confidence do anything but set back their nuclear program by maybe a few years,' said Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. 'There's almost certainly facilities that we don't know about.' Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat and member of the Senate intelligence committee who said he had been reviewing intelligence every day, expressed the same concern. 'My big fear right now is that they take this entire program underground, not physically underground, but under the radar,' he told NBC News. 'Where we tried to stop it, there is a possibility that this could accelerate it.' General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that seven B-2 bombers dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, 13,600kg precision-guided bombs designed to drive up to 60 metres into hardened underground facilities like Fordow, according to a 2012 congressional report. Caine said initial assessments indicated the sites suffered extremely severe damage but declined to speculate about whether any nuclear facilities remained intact. Eveleth said the Maxar imagery of Fordow and Caine's comments indicated the B-2s dropped an initial load of six MOPs on Fordow, followed by a 'double tap' of six more in the exact same spots.
News18
5 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Images Indicate Iran's Fordow Site Destroyed In US Strike, Experts Say 'Damage Not Evaluated'
Last Updated: Despite Iran's efforts to shield its nuclear program, the US strike on the Fordow facility appears to have caused major surface damage. However, there was no confirmation. Hours after the United States attacked Iran's Fordow nuclear plant, commercial satellite imagery indicated the deeply-buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges the nuclear plant housed were severely damaged, possibly destroyed. However, there was no official confirmation on the same. Reuters quoted Decker Eveleth, an associate researcher with the CNA Corporation, who specialises in satellite imagery, as saying that the confirmation of the below-ground destruction could not be determined, as the hall containing hundreds of centrifuges is 'too deeply buried to evaluate the level of damage based on satellite imagery". In a similar comment, David Albright, a former United Nations nuclear inspector, who heads the Institute for Science and International Security, said the United States 'just punched through with these MOPs" (Massive Ordnance Penetrators) – the bunker-busting bombs that the US said it dropped. 'I would expect that the facility is probably toast," Albright was quoted as saying. To defend against attacks such as the one conducted by US forces early on Sunday, Iran buried much of its nuclear program in fortified sites deep underground, including into the side of a mountain at Fordow. Satellite images show six holes where the bunker-busting bombs appear to have penetrated the mountain, and then ground that looks disturbed and covered in dust. However, a failure to destroy its facilities and equipment could mean Iran could more easily restart the weapons program that US intelligence and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say it shuttered in 2003. According to the report, experts also noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed 'unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance of the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that most of the near weapons-grade 60 per cent highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, in response to Israel's attacks, Iran's parliament is threatening to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of the international system that went into force in 1970 to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, ending cooperation with the IAEA. First Published: June 23, 2025, 09:14 IST
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Major doubts raised about impact of US strikes on Iran's nuclear program as intelligence shows enriched uranium moved
Experts have raised major doubts about the impact of US strikes on Iran's nuclear program, with intelligence indicating large amounts of enriched uranium were moved ahead of time. President Trump has claimed the strikes caused "monumental" damage to the nuclear sites, while Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is "very close" to eliminating the nuclear program. The US was the only country with weapons capable of destroying Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, which is built 80 to 90 metres under a mountain. Satellite imagery of the site shows six large holes where B2 stealth bombers dropped 14 massive bunker buster bombs - each weighing 13.6 tonnes and capable of penetrating 18 metres into concrete and 61 metres into earth. But satellite imagery expert Decker Eveleth, an associate researcher with the CNA Corporation, said the hall containing hundreds of centrifuges is "too deeply buried for us to evaluate the level of damage based on satellite imagery". Several experts have also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike early Sunday morning and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the U.S. and U.N. nuclear inspectors. They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a line of 13 cargo trucks waiting outside an entrance of the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the near weapons-grade 60 per cent highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the U.S. attack. The New York Times has also reported that Israeli officials with knowledge of the intelligence believe Iran had moved equipment and uranium from the site in recent days, including 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity. This was confirmed by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who told the Times Iran had "made no secret" of the fact they had moved the materials. US Vice President JD Vance has also admitted the White House does not know the fate of the enriched uranium. The uranium would need to be enriched to around 90 per cent purity to be used in a weapon, but it is reportedly enough to make nine or 10 atomic bombs. Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey said there were "almost certainly facilities that we don't know about" and the strikes have likely only set back Iran's nuclear program "by maybe a few years". US Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and a member of the Senate intelligence committee who said he had been reviewing intelligence every day, expressed the same concern. "My big fear right now is that they take this entire program underground, not physically underground, but under the radar," he told NBC News. "Where we tried to stop it, there is a possibility that this could accelerate it." Iran lashed out at the US after the attacks, accusing it of crossing a "very big red line" by striking the nation's "peaceful" nuclear facilities. The nation's foreign minister also hinted that Iran may withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - which Iran's parliament began preperations after Israel launched its first strikes "It cannot be emphasised enough how much of a devastating blow that the US, a permanent member of the Security Council, dealt to the global Non-Proliferation regime," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a press conference in Turkey. According to Arms Control Association head Daryl Kimball, "the world is going to be in the dark about what Iran may be doing". Mick Mulroy, a former CIA officer who served in the Pentagon during Trump's first term, told the New York Times the US strike would "likely set back the Iranian nuclear weapon program two to five years'. -With Reuters
