Israel’s top general says Tehran’s bomb-making dream was shattered after joint US-Israeli airstrikes

Israel’s military chief has declared that Iran is no longer a nuclear threshold state, following a devastating series of joint Israeli-American strikes that crippled Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure and killed several of its top scientists.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, speaking privately to senior officials, said the Islamic Republic’s progress toward building a nuclear weapon has been set back “by years”. A senior source confirmed Zamir’s belief to The Times of Israel on Friday, stating the entire chain of nuclear weaponisation — from research to enrichment — has been disrupted.

The coordinated assault, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, was launched on June 13 in response to what Israel described as imminent nuclear escalation by Tehran. Targets included uranium enrichment sites, weaponisation labs, and ballistic missile depots, along with a number of key nuclear scientists, many of whom were killed.

“Immunity is over,” declared Defense Minister Israel Katz, warning Iran that its support for terrorism and nuclear ambition would no longer be tolerated. “I’ve instructed the IDF to maintain our air dominance and prepare enforcement plans to neutralise further threats.”

Katz added that the strikes were just a preview of Israel’s new defence doctrine, post-October 7. “I suggest the defanged head of the snake in Tehran take notice,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar backed the action, insisting the attack came at “the last possible moment” to stop Iran’s nuclear breakout and protect the broader region. “The world must now do its part to prevent the most extreme regime from acquiring the most dangerous weapon,” he said.

Tehran, however, has not stood idly by.

In a terrifying counterstrike, Iran launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 1,100 drones into Israeli territory. The attack killed 28 people and left thousands wounded, with missiles smashing into apartment blocks, universities, and a hospital.

Despite Iran’s denial of nuclear weapons ambitions, Western and Israeli intelligence reports say Tehran had enriched uranium well past civilian thresholds, taken steps toward warhead development, and was actively obstructing UN inspectors.

Last Sunday, the US military joined the fray, bombing three critical Iranian nuclear facilities, with President Donald Trump later declaring the Islamic Republic had been “set back by decades.”

Yet some analysts remain cautious. There are growing fears Iran may have relocated much of its enriched uranium stockpile before the strikes — a move that could allow it to resume its program in secret.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has been denied access to assess the damage or track the fate of uranium stores. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi has called for urgent inspections, but Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flatly refused, accusing the West of “malign intent.”

“Grossi’s demands are meaningless and biased,” Araghchi said, blaming the IAEA for enabling Israeli aggression by adopting a May censure resolution that he claims greenlit the bombing campaign.

The Iranian parliament has since suspended cooperation with the IAEA, leaving the international community blind to Iran’s next move. “Until our sovereignty is respected, inspections are over,” Araghchi declared.

As tensions remain razor-sharp, both Israel and Iran are claiming victory, but questions loom over what comes next — and whether this “pause” is merely a prelude to a wider regional war.