Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and killed at least two top military officers, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning that “severe punishment” would be directed at Israel.
Multiple sites around the country were hit, including Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air.
Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” involved the use of more than 200 fighter jets and more than 100 drones to strike more than 100 targets across Iran over the past few hours, said the Israeli military.
Iranian state media have confirmed the deaths of top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and senior nuclear scientists. At least six nuclear scientists were also killed in the strikes, according to Iranian media. The victims include:
Hossein Salami, IRGC commander-in-chief
Gholamali Rashid, a senior Iranian military commander
Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces
Fereydoon Abbasi, nuclear scientist and former head Iran’s atomic energy agency
Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, a nuclear scientist involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons programme
Abdolhamid Minouchehr, a nuclear scientist
Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, a nuclear scientist
Amirhossein Feqhi, a nuclear scientist
Motalleblizadeh, another nuclear scientist
Iranian media also reported 50 people, including women and children, had been injured.
Trump says he had advance notice of Israeli strikes on Iran
The US underlined that it was not involved in the Israeli action, and warned Tehran not to attack its personnel or interests.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News he was aware Israel was going to conduct strikes on Iran before they happened and stressed that Tehran “cannot have a nuclear bomb”, according to the US broadcaster.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,” Trump said, according to Fox News.
Israel’s operation struck at the “heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme”, taking aim at the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The operation against Iran will “continue as many days as it takes”, Netanyahu said.
Iranian state media said residential buildings in Tehran were hit as well, killing a number of civilians including women and children.
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Why now?
Israel sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat.
It says it took out Iran’s air defences in October last year in retaliation for a barrage of about 200 missiles from the Islamic republic.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the Israeli action as a “pre-emptive strike”. The army said intelligence showed Iran was approaching a “point of no return” on its nuclear programme.
The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has always denied.
Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations.
There had been indications a military strike was likely, with US media reporting an imminent Israeli attack that would not be coordinated with the Washington.
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.
A sixth round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme had been scheduled between the United States and Iran on Sunday in Oman.
Trump said after the strikes he was “still hoping” for talks.
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Who was involved?
Israel relies on the United States for military and diplomatic support but carried out the strikes alone, top US diplomat Marco Rubio said.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he said in a statement warning Tehran against targeting US interests.
Rubio said Israel had “advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence”, without offering support or criticism of the strikes.
Tehran said Washington would be “responsible for the consequences” of Israel’s deadly attacks, saying they “cannot have been carried out without the coordination and permission of the United States”.
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What reaction has there been?
