Israel killed 30 Iranian security chiefs and 11 nuclear scientists, Israeli official says

Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says, in summarizing Israel’s 12-day air war with Iran.

The June 13 opening strike on Iran, 1,500 km (930 miles) away, severely damaged its aerial defenses and destabilized its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict, the official says.

Israel’s air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran’s missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official says.

“The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime’s ability to enrich uranium to 90% was neutralized for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralized,” the official says.

Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran says it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defenses.

Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel.