Israel sees Iran’s nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombing campaign was designed to avert the last steps to the production of a nuclear weapon.
A military official on Saturday said Israel had caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, but had not so far operated in another uranium enrichment site, Fordow.
The official said Israel had “eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership” and had killed nine nuclear scientists who “were main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) programme”.
Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian in line with its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that it does not seek an atomic bomb.
However, it has repeatedly hidden parts of its programme from international inspectors, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported it in violation of the NPT.
Iranian talks with the United States to resolve the nuclear dispute have stuttered this year. The next meeting is set for Sunday. Tehran implied it would not attend but stopped short of pulling out.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless,” state media quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying. “It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard.”
