Compiled from news services
Israel launched an attack early Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities in what Israel described as a preemptive strike, which in turn was followed by a retaliatory missile and drone attack on Israel by Iran, raising fears of a broad war in the Middle East.
The Israel Defense Forces said that three of Iran’s top military leaders were killed in early-morning airstrikes carried out by Israel across Iran on Friday.
In a statement on the social media platform X, an IDF spokesperson said Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, and the commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were killed in the Israeli strikes.
The spokesperson said the airstrikes were carried out by more than 200 Israeli fighter jets.
“These are three ruthless mass murderers with international blood on their hands. The world is a better place without them,” the spokesperson said.
Iranian state TV also confirmed Bagheri was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
Iranian state media reported that at least two nuclear scientists died in Israeli strikes in Tehran.
The Israeli Air Force described the strikes as a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive” focusing on military targets, nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and military commanders as part of alleged efforts to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
In a televised address shortly after the strikes began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the early-morning strikes were conducted under “Operation Rising Lion,” which he described as a “targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
Netanyahu said the operation would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Pointing to Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, the Israeli leader alleged that in recent years, Tehran has produced “enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs.”
“If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time — it could be in a year, it could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister said the strikes targeted the leading Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz and an individual he described as Iran’s leading scientist working on nuclear weapons.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” Netanyahu said in his televised address.
Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions across the country, including at Natanz on Friday. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Natanz was among the sites targeted but said there had been no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz nuclear site, citing information provided by Iranian authorities.
Iranian state media reported the headquarters of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps in Tehran had been hit. Several children were killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, it said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the strikes in a statement, stating that Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive “a bitter fate for itself.”
“The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands,” Khamenei said. “That regime should anticipate a severe punishment.”
Iran launched around 100 drones toward Israeli territory in retaliation for the strikes, which Israel was working to intercept, Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
Israeli Ambassador Says Intel Pointed to Imminent Attack
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters that his nation had intelligence indicating an increasing nuclear threat from Iran.
“Intelligence obtained by Israel revealed a secret program to develop all necessary parts of a bomb — uranium enrichment, triggering mechanisms and warhead delivery systems,” the ambassador said.
Danon also said Israel had information that Iran was planning a surprise attack on his country “in coordination with their proxies,” that included invasion from all sides, and the use of projectiles.
Israel Completes Strike on Nuclear Site
Israel completed a strike on the Isfahan nuclear site, according to the IDF.
“At this moment, Air Force fighter jets have completed an attack on the Iranian regime’s nuclear site in the Isfahan area, under precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Branch. The site is undergoing a process of ‘reconversion’ of enriched uranium. This is the next stage after uranium enrichment in the process of producing nuclear weapons,” posted the IDF on X.
“The attack destroyed a structure for producing metallic uranium, infrastructure for converting enriched uranium, laboratories, and other infrastructure.”
IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani posted on X that the strike “is in addition to operations in Natanz.”
Iran Confirms Nuclear Site Attacked
Iran confirmed that the Fordow nuclear site has been attacked.
“Moments ago, the sound of two explosions was heard from the Fordow site area, and two points on the ground in the Fordow area were targeted,” according to Iranian state media.
Ayatollah Khamenei Vows Revenge as Iran Retaliates
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge for Israeli attacks in a recorded message to the nation, after the Islamic nation fired retaliatory attacks.
“Don’t think that they hit and it’s over. No. They started the work and started the war. We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” he said.
IDF Confirms Strikes Inside Israel
The Israeli military confirmed that Iran fired at Israel and advised residents to find shelter.
“The firing continues. Another volley of dozens of missiles was launched towards the State of Israel. You are asked to continue to obey the instructions of the Home Front Command and the instructions that are being distributed to you. The explosions you hear come from interceptions or crashes,” posted the IDF on X.
“The air defense system constantly identifies and intercepts threats.”
Iran’s government news agency confirmed that hundreds of ballistic missiles were launched at Israel.
In a post on X, IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said: “Once again, Iranian missiles are aimed at homes, families, children all over Israel. The world can no longer treat this as Israel’s problem alone.”
Israeli paramedics reported that five people were injured in the Tel Aviv area after multiple waves of Iranian missiles worked to push through Israel’s Iron Dome defense systems.
One casualty was said to be in moderate condition, and the other four were lightly injured by shrapnel.
Israel’s Home Front Command announced that people could leave their shelters after Iran sent multiple waves of missiles.
“Following the situational assessment, the Home Front Command published that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country and to remain near them,” the IDF shared on Telegram. “You are requested to continue to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command and the instructions sent to you.”
Netanyahu Says He Instructed Plan for Attack in November
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address in Hebrew that he instructed his military brass in November last year to come up with a plan to attack Iran’s nuclear program.
This occurred after the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in a strike by Israel in Lebanon in September. Netanyahu feared that Iran would ramp up its nuclear program following his death.
Netanyahu wanted the attack on Iran to be in April, but pushed it off for reasons he declined to specify.
Netanyahu also said that Iran advanced its ballistic missile program in an attempt to produce 300 missiles monthly.
“That means that within three years, that’s 10,000 weapons,” he said. “Within six years, 20,000 missiles, each one full of explosive material.”
Netanyahu said Israel needed to go ahead with the operation with or without U.S. support. He said that Israel informed the United States ahead of the attack.
Netanyahu Addresses People of Iran
Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran shortly after the all-clear was given after the Iranian regime sent multiple waves of missiles in a retaliatory attack.
“Israel’s fight is not with you,” he said. “It’s not with you, the great people of Iran, whom we respect and admire. Our fight is with our common enemy: a murderous regime that both oppresses you and impoverishes you.”
Netanyahu told them that the objective of Israel’s operation, Rising Lion, was to eliminate the nuclear and ballistic missile threat the current Islamic regime poses to it. As his nation achieved that objective, he said, it cleared the way for the Iranian people to achieve their goal: freedom.
He said the regime that has been in power for nearly 50 years has never been weaker after Israel’s attack. He called the people of Iran brave and assured them that the people of Israel were on their side.
“The nation of Iran and the nation of Israel have been true friends since the days of Cyrus the Great, and the time has come for you to unite around your flag and your historic legacy by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime,” he said.
U.S.-Iran Talks Scheduled to Resume
Officials in Washington have said that the United States was not involved in Israel’s attack.
U.S. President Donald Trump had previously warned that Israel or the United States could launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiators failed to reach a deal on Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. A sixth round of Iran-U.S. talks is scheduled to begin on Sunday in Oman.
On Friday morning, Trump wrote on social media that Iran should come to the negotiating table on its nuclear program before it’s too late.
“Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal,’” he wrote on Truth Social. “They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!”
Trump also called the Israeli strikes on Iran “excellent” and suggested more attacks may come.
“I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it,” Trump told ABC on Friday morning. “They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come, a lot more.”
In an interview with Reuters, Trump said an agreement can still be made. “I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out.”
But, Iran can still negotiate a deal, Trump said, adding, “It’s not too late.”
International Reaction
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on the alliance to push for de-escalation in the Middle East during a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm.
“This was a unilateral action by Israel. So I think it is now crucial for many allies, including the United States, to work, as we speak, to de-escalate,” he said. “I know they’re doing that. And I think that is now the first order of the day.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed those sentiments.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Starmer said: “The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently. Escalation serves no one in the region.”
German Chancellor Freidrich Merz said Netanyahu informed him about the strike against Iran during a phone call.
He said Israel had a right to defend itself, but called on “both sides to refrain from steps that could lead to further escalation and destabilize the entire region,” according to Welt.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also urged “maximum restraint” and immediate de-escalation.
“A diplomatic resolution is now more urgent than ever, for the sake of the region’s stability and global security,” she wrote on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated in an X post Paris’s condemnation of the Iranian nuclear program and affirmed that Israel had the right to defend itself.
He said that in light of the attacks, he had convened France’s National Security Council and said that the country “stands ready to work with all its partners to push for deescalation in the Near and Middle East.”
Macron has recently been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and this week revealed he received a letter from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmood Abbas that he said contained “unprecedented commitments that demonstrate a genuine willingness to move forward.”
France is currently preparing to co-chair a U.N. conference on Palestinian statehood with Saudi Arabia in New York set to begin next week.
This story includes reports from Katabella Roberts, Savannah Hulsey Pointer, T.J. Muscaro, Jackson Richman and Jack Phillips. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed.
