Israel Strikes Iranian Nuclear Sites; Iran Retaliates with Hospital Attack

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue its campaign until Iran's nuclear programme is destroyed. “The tyrants of Tehran will pay the full price,” he said.

Defence minister Israel Katz said the military had been ordered to increase strikes on strategic targets in Tehran. He said the goal was to eliminate threats to Israel and undermine the “Ayatollah regime.”

Netanyahu has said Israel’s offensive could bring down the Iranian regime, and that the country would take all necessary steps to remove the “existential threat” posed by Tehran.

Over a week of Israeli strikes has targeted Iran’s military leadership, damaged its nuclear infrastructure, and killed hundreds. Iran's retaliatory missile attacks have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel.

Israel’s military said it targeted the Khondab nuclear site in Arak overnight, including a heavy-water research reactor. Heavy-water reactors can be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.

Iranian media reported that two projectiles landed near the facility. No radiation threat was reported.

The Israeli military also said it struck a site in the Natanz area, which it described as housing equipment for developing nuclear weapons.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its programme is peaceful. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said Israel had violated international law by attacking its nuclear sites and added there were no casualties because the areas were evacuated.