Netanyahu: We Knocked Out 20 Top Nuclear Scientists; 12 Were Eliminated in the First Minute of War

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed one of the most operationally significant details of recent Israeli military action during an interview on CBS News 60 Minutes, revealing that Israel had successfully eliminated twenty of Iran’s most senior nuclear scientists, with twelve of those killings carried out within the opening minute of Operation Rising Lion.

Netanyahu presented this achievement as one of the most consequential tactical successes of the entire conflict and argued that it had meaningfully set back Iran’s timeline for developing a deployable nuclear arsenal.

In his words, Netanyahu said, “I think the most pointed success is knocking out 20 top nuclear scientists who were working on the atomic bombs to be used against Israel, America, and anyone else. And 12 were knocked out in the first minute of Operation Rising Lion, first minute.

“And another eight were knocked out in the present operation. And I think taking out that amount of knowhow, it does not eliminate the knowhow, but it sets them back,” he said.

Netanyahu was careful to clarify that the elimination of these scientists did not permanently remove Iran’s nuclear knowledge or its capacity to eventually resume weapons development.

He stated that the more important practical effect was the disruption of Iran’s planned nuclear arsenal, which he said the regime had expected to have in place by now. He argued that this delay was not a minor achievement but a matter of survival for both Israel and, in the longer term, the United States.

The Prime Minister connected these strikes to a broader pattern of surgical precision that he said characterized Israeli military operations throughout the conflict.

He referenced the famous pager operation against Hezbollah operatives as an example of Israel’s capacity for targeted action that caused maximum operational disruption with minimal collateral damage. He argued that this same precision was applied in strikes against Iranian nuclear personnel, military commanders, and political leadership….See More