Israeli official vows ‘We have more surprises coming up’ for Iran following wave of airstrikes
A senior Israeli intelligence official exclusively told Fox News on Saturday, "We have more surprises coming up" for Iran following the initial wave of strikes during "Operation Rising Lion."
The high-ranking source, speaking to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst, said Israeli intelligence projected Iran would have an arsenal of 8,000 ballistic missiles over the next two years and that this was part of the reason a decision was made to launch the operation. Right now, Israel believes Iran has about 2,000 missiles.
"We cannot end this operation knowing that we will be in the same spot two years from now," the official said. "Everything is going as planned. Actually, better than planned."
The official added: "We have lots of surprises. Not just the ones we already did. We have more surprises coming up."
Forty Iranian air defense systems have been hit since the beginning of the operation, which is based on three goals -- targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and removing the Iranian existential threat against Israel.
During the initial strike against a meeting of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air force officials, Israeli intelligence assessed that 30 commanders were killed.
"It’s a historic achievement," the official said.
Israel now expects more incoming Iranian missiles in the days ahead that will cause casualties and destruction.
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However, the bulk of the conflict with Iran could largely be over in a matter of days.
"I think we can finish it in days… It’s a good thing that we have the U.S. by our side," the official said.
The official also told Fox News that the U.S. is "fully coordinated" with Israel, yet declined to go into specifics.
"The way the U.S. is standing beside Israel is unprecedented," he said. "We feel it."