{"id":54464,"date":"2025-06-13T19:14:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T19:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/israel-envoy-to-rwanda-attack-on-iran-aimed-at-neutralising-imminent-nuclear\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T09:42:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T09:42:54","slug":"israel-envoy-to-rwanda-attack-on-iran-aimed-at-neutralising-imminent-nuclear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/israel-envoy-to-rwanda-attack-on-iran-aimed-at-neutralising-imminent-nuclear\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel envoy to Rwanda: Attack on Iran aimed at neutralising ‘imminent’ nuclear threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a statement following the large-scale airstrikes on Iranian soil early Friday, Amb. Weiss outlined the rationale behind the operation, saying Iran\u2019s accelerating nuclear weapons programme left Israel with no choice but to act decisively.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran is only moments away from a nuclear weapon,\u201d Weiss told IGIHE. \u201cThe threat posed by Iran is imminent, and Israel had no choice but to remove it before it is too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

The airstrikes, which marked one of the most extensive attacks on Iranian territory since the 1980s war with Iraq, targeted key elements of Iran\u2019s nuclear and missile infrastructure. Among the targets was the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed damage and said it was monitoring radiation levels.<\/p>\n

According to Israeli military officials, the operation involved approximately 200 aircraft striking around 100 locations tied to Iran\u2019s nuclear development and missile delivery systems.<\/p>\n

The Iranian regime, long accused by Israel of pursuing nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful programme, was described by Weiss as having \u201cdeceived the world\u201d and \u201cconducted negotiations in bad faith\u201d while continuing to enrich uranium and advance weaponisation efforts.<\/p>\n

IAEA reports, she noted, prove beyond doubt that Iran\u2019s programme is intended for military purposes.<\/p>\n

The Friday strikes killed several senior Iranian military figures, including Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Revolutionary Guard, and Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces. Several top scientists associated with Iran\u2019s nuclear programme were also reported dead, although their names have not been officially released.<\/p>\n

In response, Iran launched over 100 drones toward Israel in a retaliatory move. Most of them were intercepted, according to Israeli defense officials.<\/p>\n

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the attack as a \u201cwicked crime\u201d and vowed \u201csevere punishment,\u201d claiming that residential areas were also hit. Israel, however, has insisted that its campaign is precisely targeted at military infrastructure and not civilians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael is not targeting the Iranian people,\u201d Weiss emphasised. \u201cWe are acting against radical forces that threaten our security. Every feasible measure is being taken to minimise harm to uninvolved civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ambassador further accused Tehran of being the world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terrorism, saying that for years it has used its resources to build a military apparatus designed to fulfil its leaders’ repeated and explicit calls for Israel\u2019s destruction.<\/p>\n

She cited a statement made just last month by Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who referred to Israel as a \u201clethal, dangerous, cancerous tumor\u201d that should be \u201ceradicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed that sentiment in a televised address, calling the operation \u201ca battle for Israel\u2019s survival\u201d and expressing hope that it would lead to the dismantling of what he called a \u201cbrutal dictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The timing of Israel\u2019s operation follows increasing international scrutiny of Iran\u2019s nuclear activities. Just a day before the attack, the IAEA Board of Governors issued a formal censure against Iran for its refusal to fully cooperate with inspections.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the United States, which had been engaged in nuclear negotiations with Iran, distanced itself from the strike. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Washington had not participated and was now focused on protecting American personnel in the region.<\/p>\n

As Iran warns that “the gates of hell will open” in retaliation, U.S. President Donald Trump said it is not too late for Iran to halt the Israeli attacks by agreeing to curb its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n

\"Israel\u2019s<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s Ambassador to Rwanda, Einat Weiss, has defended her country\u2019s recent military strike on Iran, describing it as a necessary act of self-defence aimed at neutralising what she called an \u201cimminent\u201d nuclear threat from the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000089071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000089071,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gettyimages-2219201704-1200x800.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gettyimages-2219201704-1200x800.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gettyimages-2219201704-1200x800.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gettyimages-2219201704-1200x800.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gettyimages-2219201704-1200x800.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/gettyimages-2219201704-1200x800.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000089071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54464"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54464"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}