Photo credit: iranintl.com
A former senior Israeli general told Iran International that Israel will prevent Iran from rebuilding its air defense systems, missile infrastructure, or nuclear facilities following a 12-day war in June, and is ready to strike again if Tehran attempts to restore them.
“Any substantial effort to restore those capabilities will be a trigger for action,” Brigadier General Amir Avivi, a former officer in the Israeli military who now serves in the reserves, told Iran International in an interview, News.Az reports.
The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program earlier this year, for which President Donald Trump set a 60-day ultimatum.
When no agreement was reached by the 61st day Israel launched a surprise military offensive on June 13, followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.
Avivi said Israel’s destruction of Iran’s air defense capabilities which ultimately paved the way for the US bombing run was swift.
“Within two days we had opened an air corridor to Tehran and could operate almost freely over large parts of Iran,” Avivi said. “They had more than 130 air-defense systems in the west and around Tehran, and we took out roughly 84 of them very quickly.”