Iran’s nuclear program has posed an existential threat to Israel for decades, with the Islamic Republic consistently defying international efforts to halt its weapons development. The current crisis represents the culmination of years of Iranian deception and acceleration toward nuclear capability.

According to Israeli assessments, Iran currently possesses enough enriched uranium to construct fifteen nuclear bombs. The regime has been enriching uranium to 60 percent purity—a level that serves no civilian purpose and brings Iran dangerously close to the 90 percent threshold required for nuclear weapons.

The Iranian nuclear program began ostensibly for civilian purposes, but intelligence gathered by Israel and international agencies has revealed a systematic effort to develop weapons capability. Iran has consistently obstructed international inspectors from accessing its nuclear facilities and has established covert nuclear projects beyond the oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“The Iranian regime has been working for decades to obtain a nuclear weapon. The world has attempted every possible diplomatic path to stop it, but the regime has refused to stop,” the Israeli military stated following Friday’s strikes.

Iran’s nuclear facilities are strategically dispersed and heavily fortified. The main enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordo are built deep underground, designed to withstand conventional attacks. Natanz, which was significantly damaged in Friday’s strikes, houses thousands of centrifuges used to enrich uranium. The facility has been targeted multiple times in recent years through both cyber attacks and physical sabotage operations.

The regime’s nuclear ambitions are intertwined with its broader regional strategy of establishing hegemony across the Middle East. Iran has used its nuclear program as leverage in negotiations while simultaneously advancing its weapons capability and supporting proxy forces throughout the region.

Recent months have seen unprecedented acceleration in Iran’s nuclear activities. Netanyahu revealed that Iran had taken “unprecedented steps toward weaponization,” moving beyond uranium enrichment to develop the technical components necessary for nuclear warheads.

The Islamic Republic has also built what Netanyahu described as “a massive store” of ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel within minutes, each carrying a ton of explosives. Iran planned to produce 20,000 such missiles within six years, creating a formidable delivery system for potential nuclear weapons.

International diplomatic efforts, including multiple rounds of negotiations and sanctions regimes, have failed to halt Iran’s nuclear advance. The regime has used diplomatic talks as cover while continuing to expand its nuclear infrastructure and capabilities.

For Israel, facing repeated Iranian threats to “wipe Israel off the map,” the nuclear program represents an unacceptable existential risk that required decisive military action to prevent.