Tel Aviv/Washington, March 8 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel and the United States have achieved near-total control over Iranian airspace following a series of coordinated military strikes, as the conflict between the two countries escalates sharply.
In a video message posted on X, Netanyahu said, “We achieved almost complete control over the skies of Tehran,” describing the operation as a major strategic success carried out in close coordination with the United States.
According to the Israeli leader, the military campaign was conducted with the full understanding of US President Donald Trump regarding what he described as the grave threat posed by Iran not only to Israel but to the wider international community.
Netanyahu linked the current offensive to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023, stating that the campaign had been a long-standing objective of his government. “We have turned Israel into a regional power. All of this requires courage, initiative and taking risks,” he said.
He added that Israel had initiated a major strategic shift following the October 7 attacks. “After the great disaster of October 7, I decided to lead a polar shift — powerful actions one after another, proactive and surprising actions that dramatically change the balance of power between us and our enemies,” Netanyahu stated.
The Prime Minister warned that Israel was confronting what he described as a dangerous regime in Iran that was attempting to expand its military capabilities.
“We are facing an extremely evil regime that is plotting to destroy us with atomic bombs and tens of thousands of missiles,” Netanyahu said.
Operation Rising Lion
Netanyahu confirmed that the joint US–Israel campaign, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, was launched to eliminate what he described as an immediate strategic threat.
The Israeli leader claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had attempted to safeguard key military capabilities by moving them into fortified underground locations.
“Khamenei ordered the capabilities to be restored and buried underground so that they would be immune,” Netanyahu said. “If that had happened, he would have used it to destroy the State of Israel and threaten the entire world.”
According to Israeli and US officials, the joint military operation launched on February 28 resulted in the killing of Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials.
Netanyahu said the intervention was timed to prevent an anticipated Iranian strike against US and Israeli targets in the region.
“There was a danger that Iran would attack American targets in the region and Israel first, and for all these reasons we acted at the appointed time,” he said.
Highlighting the first week of operations, Netanyahu claimed Israeli and US forces had destroyed hundreds of ballistic missile launchers and severely weakened Iran’s offensive capabilities.
“In the first week, we eliminated the dictator Khamenei and destroyed hundreds of ballistic missile launchers,” he said, adding that the move had significantly reduced the threat to Israel.
Trump Claims Iranian Military Crippled
Speaking aboard Air Force One while travelling to Miami, President Trump said the campaign had dealt devastating blows to Iran’s military infrastructure.
“We’re winning the war by a lot. We’ve decimated their whole evil empire,” Trump said. “We’ve wiped out their navy — 44 ships. We’ve wiped out their air force, every plane. We’ve wiped out most of their missiles.”
Trump also said Iranian drone capabilities had been severely degraded and that much of the country’s missile manufacturing infrastructure had been destroyed.
“They’re at about nine per cent of what they sent out in the first two days,” he said.
However, the President declined to give a timeline for the end of the conflict, stating that the operation would continue as long as necessary.
Possible Special Forces Mission
Amid the ongoing hostilities, the US and Israel have also discussed the possibility of deploying special forces into Iran to secure the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to an Axios report citing sources familiar with the discussions.
The move would be considered in a later stage of the war and highlights the focus on preventing Iranian nuclear materials from falling into hostile hands.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reinforced Washington’s hardline stance in a message posted by United States Central Command.
“If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you,” Hegseth warned.
Israeli Strikes in Tehran
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the Israeli Air Force had conducted targeted strikes on multiple Iranian military facilities in Tehran.
According to the IDF, the strikes destroyed several fuel storage complexes belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which were used to distribute fuel to military units.
“The strike significantly deepens the damage to the military infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the IDF said.
Iran Launches Retaliatory Attacks
Iran has responded with large-scale missile and drone strikes as part of Operation True Promise 4, conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian state media reported that the attacks targeted Israeli military infrastructure and American positions across the region.
The IRGC said its Aerospace Division launched Kheibar-Shekan solid-fuel missiles at Israeli military targets in the northern city of Haifa, while drones targeted sites housing US personnel.
Iran also claimed its naval forces struck facilities linked to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
Since the start of hostilities, Iran has reportedly launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and suicide drones at targets across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Warning to Hezbollah and Iran
Netanyahu also issued a warning to the Lebanese government, demanding that it enforce the ceasefire agreement and disarm Hezbollah.
“Your responsibility is to enforce the ceasefire agreement and disarm Hezbollah,” he said, warning that failure to do so could lead to “disastrous consequences for Lebanon.”
Addressing members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the Israeli leader said: “You too are in our crosshairs. Whoever lays down his weapon, no harm will come to him. He who does not will pay the price.”
Message to Iranian People
Netanyahu concluded by appealing directly to the Iranian population, saying Israel’s goal was not the Iranian people but the ruling regime.
“To the Iranian people — we seek to liberate Iran,” he said. “But at the end of the day, liberation from the yoke of tyranny will depend on you.”
He expressed hope that relations between the two nations could one day be restored.
“I believe that if you stand up at the moment of truth, the day will not be far off when Israel and Iran return to being brave friends,” Netanyahu said.
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