Netanyahu: Iran possesses 28,000 ballistic missiles and is seeking to develop nuclear weapons
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued on Friday to promote his claims justifying his country’s aggression against Iran, claiming that the latter possesses 28,000 ballistic missiles and is seeking to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies seeking to develop nuclear weapons, claiming that it believes such a development is religiously forbidden.
It maintains that it only seeks a nuclear program for peaceful purposes, including electricity generation and other civilian uses.
While Iran doesn’t provide official figures on its ballistic missile stockpile, it says it has prepared for a war with Israel that could last for years.
Speaking to reporters outside the Weizmann Institute for Research in Rehovot, near Tel Aviv, which sustained heavy damage from an Iranian missile strike on June 15, Netanyahu claimed on Friday that “Iran possesses 28,000 ballistic missiles and is trying to develop a nuclear weapon”.
He reiterated his country’s claims justifying its current aggression against Tehran, “The terrorist Iranian regime should not possess nuclear weapons”.
Netanyahu also reiterated his claim that Israel has the capabilities necessary to destroy Iran’s nuclear program.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said in an interview with the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority that Israel is capable of striking all of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In the same interview, he hinted at the possibility of assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu’s claim that Israel is capable of destroying Iran’s nuclear program comes amid reports in the media of pressure from Tel Aviv on Washington to join it in its war against Tehran.
In particular, Tel Aviv is seeking direct support from Washington to target Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment facility, one of Iran’s most prominent and fortified nuclear facilities.
Located inside a tunnel beneath a mountain near the city of Qom, at a depth of between 80-and 90-meters underground, targeting it would be an extremely complex military challenge.
No country in the world, except the United States, possesses the technical capability to attempt to destroy this facility.
Even for Washington, the option of bombing Fordo is practically limited to the B-2 Spirit strategic bomber, the only aircraft capable of carrying GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, which weigh more than 13 tons and are specifically designed to penetrate deep underground fortifications.
Despite the bomb’s high penetrating power, military experts doubt its ability to completely destroy the Fordo facility, given its depth and the complexity of its rocky geometry.
This forces Washington to carefully consider the feasibility and potential consequences of any such strike.
