Israel and Iran have opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict when Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday on Tehran.

Iran and Israel continued on Sunday their aerial attacks, which began Friday with a series of Israeli strikes on Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on the mission of his lifetime. For years, the veteran leader has made the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program his top priority.

The missile and air war that Israel and Iran have spent decades planning for has come, and it is spectacular and terrifying. Israeli officials say they need at least two weeks to degrade Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.

The Israeli military said it killed nine senior scientists and experts who played a role in Iran’s nuclear program in strikes Friday. Israel says Iran intends to build a nuclear weapon, and is quite close to being able to.

The retaliatory strikes came on Saturday, a day after Israel killed top Iranian military leaders and scientists and destroyed an aboveground nuclear enrichment plant near Natanz.

Iran conflict could open opportunities for Russia to possibly become a power broker to help end the confrontation.

Israel has said it launched Operation Rising Lion to deal a blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the strikes are essential to ‘roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival’ and that Tehran could build a nuclear weapon within a few months.