Israel says it killed 30 Iranian security officials, 11 nuclear scientists in 12-day war

Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists, a senior Israeli military official said on Friday in summarizing Israel's 12-day air war with Iran.

The official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defenses and destabilized its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict.

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

"The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90 percent was neutralized for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralized," the official said.

Iran retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said 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 due to tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel.

In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel.

Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on Friday that the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against Hamas.

Zamir told troops in Gaza that an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action.