Israeli military source claims Iran’s military leadership is ‘on the run’

The military official provided a detailed summary of the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear program by the first part of Tuesday, saying, “Stopping the nuclear program isn't just about striking the enrichment site. Those together with other activities like the targeting of scientists supporting the program and other facilities play a key role as well.”

He added, “One is extensive attacks on the nuclear facility in Natanz, that is the largest enrichment site in Iran, carrying out precise strikes against the nuclear site in Isfahan, which is one of their main reconversion facilities, targeting and striking centrifuge production facilities, targeting and striking the Iranian SPND, the organization of defensive innovation and research… their headquarters in Tehran."

He continued, "At least ten scientists essential to the nuclear problem [have been eliminated], each one of these people was a key component to the program and it will be very hard advancing it without their knowledge. And this is just part of our operations against their nuclear plan - and more to come.”

The official stressed that the Israeli operation is ongoing. “We are using our aerial supremacy in the skies of Tehran and our strong intelligence to identify, plan and strike components of their nuclear program in real time,” he said. “The Iranian military leadership are on the run. They know that we will keep operating to ensure security.”

The strikes have severely degraded Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, which has been used to target Israeli cities for five consecutive nights. According to the official, Israel’s “missile hunting” operations have successfully destroyed more than a third of Iran's missile launchers, as well as weapons depots and manufacturing sites.

While this resulted in a less impactful barrage on Monday night, the threat remains, the official cautioned. Over the course of the operation, Iran has fired approximately 400 ballistic missiles at Israel.

According to the official, Iran has launched “many hundreds” of UAVs at Israel since the operation began, with some 30 fired at Israel Monday night. Most of the UAVs have been intercepted successfully, while the IAF has been striking both UAV and missile production and storage sites in Iran. This has led to a significant decrease in missile and UAV stockpiles in Iran, he said.

The official explained the IDF's two-pronged counter-strategy. Offensively, Israeli forces are actively striking targets deep inside Iran, including “UAV storage facilities,” in order to destroy the drones before they can be used. Defensively, he noted that Israel has had “increased success” intercepting the attacks, having successfully shot down many hundreds of UAVs.

“Although our work is definitely not done, we have been able to intercept many hundreds of UAVs fire towards Israel successfully," he said. "Our aircraft were also able to strike two Iranian fighter jets. These jets were intended to intercept our aerial force.”

In a separate statement, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, referring to the elimination of the latest Iranian chief of staff, said, “Shadmani served as the wartime chief of staff of the Iranian regime’s armed forces and was the closest associate of Iran's Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei]. Ali Shadmani was appointed to replace Gholam Ali Rashid, the previous chief of staff, whom we also neutralized in the opening strike of the operation. Shadmani served in the role for only four days, he too was eliminated."

Defrin continued, "We will relentlessly pursue our enemies through advanced intelligence capabilities, exploiting emerging opportunities, air superiority, and complex operational planning.”

Defrin noted that approximately 30 missiles were launched towards Israel overnight on Monday, with most being intercepted. He reiterated the importance of civilian adherence to Home Front Command directives.

He provided a specific example of this air-to-air combat, describing an incident in which an Israeli UAV was targeted by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile squad. In a demonstration of real-time operational capability, the Israeli drone identified the launch preparations, struck the launcher first, and eliminated the Iranian operatives.