Live Updates Current time in Israel: June 13, 11:22 AM IDF intercepts Iranian retaliatory drones, destroys Natanz nuclear site

Speaking from the Israel Air Force’s underground command center following a simultaneous strike on senior Iranian military leadership, Binder praised the intelligence community for its role in identifying the threat and preparing for what comes next.

“We want to degrade, disrupt and remove this threat,” Binder said. “We are embarking on a campaign that is nothing short of existential—against an enemy that seeks to destroy us.”

Binder said Iran is racing to develop nuclear capabilities and stockpiling large quantities of conventional weapons, posing an unprecedented strategic danger.

Military Intelligence worked ‘very, very hard’ to warn of Iran’s advances

Binder said that Aman had worked hard to catch Iran’s secret attempts to work on various nuclear weapons group development issues, and that they had worked equally hard at following secret progress by Tehran regarding conventional ballistic missile threats.

“Military Intelligence is fully prepared for this mission, is on very high alert, and is entering this campaign from a very strong position,” he said.

He addressed his officers with words of confidence and resolve.

“I trust you, I believe in you. Bring your sharpness and your best selves—and with that, we will win. Good luck.”

Leadership and background

Binder was appointed as chief of Military Intelligence in August 2024, succeeding Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva. He previously commanded the Golani Brigade and served as head of the IDF’s Operations Directorate.

His remarks followed the overnight Israeli strike targeting the top brass of Iran’s military establishment, a move seen as a significant escalation in the long-running shadow war between the two countries. The IDF released a video and photo of Binder’s address from the Air Force’s command bunker as part of its public messaging campaign.

Earlier Friday morning, Israel said that the Islamic Republic had even started a program to try to build tens of thousands of ballistic missiles to clearly be able to overwhelm Israel’s anti-missile shield.

Regarding the nuclear program, Israel published on Friday that Iran has made progress between December 2024 and now relating to nuclear core explosion, implosion, neutrons, and physical nuclear core issues, something which military intelligence would have had a leading or major hand in learning along with the Mossad.

Binder said this was a historic moment for military intelligence coordinating so many different issues for the current campaign against Iran.

Since 2023, IDF intelligence heavily increased the resources and personnel it invested in marking Iranian targets for a potential future strike.

Since around 3:00 a.m., the air force has been attacking a variety of targets within Iran, including its air defenses.

In fact, back in October 2024, the IDF already eliminated Iran’s best air defenses, its S-300 Russian made systems.

However, the Islamic Republic had medium level systems which still defended its air space, which the IDF is now taking apart.

To the extent the IDF continues to take these systems apart it could start achieving greater air supremacy in Iranian airspace, giving it freer ability to hit more targets going forward.

The footage also included the jets returning after the successful strikes.

The IDF struck over 100 Iranian targets, using over 200 aircraft and over 330 munitions.

The strikes undermined Iran’s “sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms,” Riyadh’s official agency, Saudi Press Agency stated.

Riyadh also called on the United Nations Security Council and the international community to “immediately halt this aggression.”

He also noted that over 200 IDF aircraft have attacked over 100 targets in Iran with over 330 munitions.

He did not say when they would reach Israel, but in April 2025, it took such drones several hours.

During that Iranian attack and another attack by Tehran on Israel in October 2024, Israel had a wide alliance of US, Briths, French, and other countries helping to defend it.

It was unclear whether Israel had any such alliance this time, given that it launched a preemptive strike, and the other two times it was attacked by Iran first.

This is a developing story.

This follows Israel conducting airstrikes on Iran as part of Operation “Rising Lion,” including the targeted killing of IRGC commander Major-General Hossein Salami and Iranian Armed Forces chief Major-General Mohammad Bagheri.

Sayyari is a former Marine who served as Iranian naval chief from 2007 until 2017.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin quoted Trump as saying in a post on X.