Netanyahu claims Israel is close to achieving its goals in Iran

(Patria) - Israel is very close to achieving its goal of eliminating the dual threats of Iranian ballistic missiles and nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, reported Reuters.

He vowed not to allow Israel to be drawn into a war of attrition, but also said he would not end the Iranian campaign prematurely.

"We will not continue with our actions beyond what is necessary to achieve them, but we will also not end them prematurely. When the goals are achieved, the operation is over and the fighting will stop."

"I have no doubt that this is a regime that wants to destroy us, and that is why we started this operation to eliminate two specific threats to our existence: the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat. Step by step, we are moving towards achieving these goals. We are very, very close to completing them," Netanyahu said.

He said the Iranian Fordow nuclear facility was severely damaged by US bunker-buster bombs overnight, but the extent of the damage remains to be seen.

Asked about the location of Iran's sixty percent enriched uranium, Netanyahu said: "We are monitoring the situation very closely. I can tell you that it is an important component of the nuclear program. It is not the only component. It is not a sufficient component. But it is an important component, and we have interesting information about it, and you will forgive me if I do not share it with you," he said.

Until the first Israeli strikes on Iranian enrichment facilities on June 13, Iran had refined uranium to a purity of up to sixty percent, a small step away from approximately ninety percent, the quality for bombs, and far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, which Iran adhered to until US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.