Guwahati, June 15 -- Amin Saikal, Victoria University

Alarmed by an intelligence assessment that Iran will be able to produce nuclear weapons within months if not weeks, Israel has launched a massive air campaign aiming to destroy the country's nuclear program.

Israel's air strikes hit Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, as well as its air defences and long-range missile facilities.

Among the dead are Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps; Mohammad Bagheri, the commander-in-chief of the military; and two prominent nuclear scientists.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promised "severe punishment" in response. Iran could potentially target Israel's own nuclear sites and US...