Israel has attacked Iran targeting the country’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military personnel on Friday at the start of what it said was a prolonged military engagement carried out under the pretext of preventing Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions including at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of any retaliation.
Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami was assassinated in the attack, IRNA reported. The unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Several children had been killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, said state media
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.
“Moments ago Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement that Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive “a bitter fate for itself”.
An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets including the facility at Natanz in central Iran. The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.
The United States said it had no part in the operation, which raises the risk of a fresh escalation in tensions in the Middle East, a major oil producing region.
Alongside extensive air strikes, Israel’s Mossad spy agency led a series of covert sabotage operations inside Iran, Axios reported, citing a senior Israeli official. These operations were aimed at damaging Iran’s strategic missile sites and its air defence capabilities.
Iranian state media reported that at least two nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in Israeli strikes in Tehran.
Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.
“Following the pre-emptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, a missile and UAV (drone) attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate time frame,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said tens of thousands of soldiers had been called up and “prepared across all borders”.
“We are amidst a historic campaign unlike any other. This is a critical operation to prevent an existential threat, by an enemy who is intent on destroying us,” he said.
Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said tens of thousands of soldiers had been called up and “prepared across all borders”.
“We are amidst a historic campaign unlike any other. This is a critical operation to prevent an existential threat, by an enemy who is intent on destroying us,” he said.
Israeli Minister Gideon Saar was holding “marathon of calls” with counterparts around the world regarding Israel’s attack on Iran, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
US not involved
US President Donald Trump would convene a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday morning, the White House said.
Statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its… pic.twitter.com/5FFesh3dkF
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 13, 2025
Iran’s armed forces spokesperson said Israel and its chief ally the United States would pay a “heavy price” for the attack, accusing Washington of providing support for the operation.
An Israeli official told Israel public broadcaster Kan that Israel had coordinated with Washington on the strikes.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio however said the United States was not involved and Tel Aviv had acted unilaterally for self-defence.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” he added.
The State Department issued an advisory saying that all US government employees in Israel and their family members should “shelter in place until further notice”.
The attacks triggered sharp falls in stock prices in early Asian trade on Friday, led by a selloff in US futures, while oil prices jumped as investors scurried to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.
Nuclear talks deadlocked
US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s escalating uranium enrichment program in Oman on Sunday, according to officials from both countries and their Omani mediators. But the talks have appeared to be deadlocked.
Trump said on Thursday an Israeli strike on Iran “could very well happen” but reiterated his hopes for a peaceful resolution.
A source familiar with US intelligence reports said there has been no recent change in the U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and that Khamenei has not authorised the restarting of the nuclear weapons program that was shuttered in 2003.
Even so, US intelligence had indicated that Israel was preparing a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US military was planning for the full range of contingencies in the Middle East, including the possibility that it might have to help evacuate American civilians, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
