Israel early Friday local time launched what it said was a “preemptive strike” on Iran’s nuclear program and other military targets. The strikes, including on the capital, Tehran, killed Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and other senior officials, according to the Israeli military and Iranian state media. The Israel Defense Forces later said that Iran had launched more than 100 drones in retaliation for the attacks. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the operation was “to damage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile factories and military capabilities.” Secretary of State
Marco Rubio said that the United States is not involved in the strikes.
In separate statements, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the Israeli strikes on Iran and offered their condolences to the country’s leadership for the deaths of military officers and nuclear scientists in the attacks.
President Donald Trump told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier that he was aware of Israel’s strikes before they happened, the network reported. Trump said he hoped negotiations with Iran would continue, but “there are several people in leadership that will not be coming back.”
Despite international media reports about Israel’s readiness to strike Iran, Israel managed to keep the exact timing secret. Several stories in Israeli media indicated that Israel was not planning to carry out an attack before the beginning of next week, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning a weekend vacation ahead of his son’s wedding, scheduled for Monday.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Friday issued a directive to all U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice.
It said U.S. citizens in Israel should be aware of the location of the nearest shelter and be aware that “security incidents, including mortar, rocket, and missile fire, and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) intrusions, often take place without any warning.”
Iran launches more than 100 drones in retaliation
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said Friday morning in a statement that Iran had launched “over 100 UAVs toward Israel, and the IDF is working to intercept them.”
He said more than 200 Israeli air force fighter jets had struck over 100 targets across Iran, including the locations of top Iranian military officials, and that the strikes were ongoing.
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency confirmed the deaths of prominent military commanders and nuclear scientists in Israel’s strikes.
It reported that Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed, along with another senior IRGC commander, Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid.
The agency also reported the deaths of Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi, whom the agency identified as “two prominent Iranian nuclear scientists.”
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Friday morning in a statement that Israel “must expect a severe punishment” for its attacks on Iran. He said some military commanders and scientists were killed in the attacks. Israel has created a “bitter and painful fate” for itself, the statement said.
IAEA “closely monitoring” the situation
The International Atomic Energy Agency is “closely monitoring” the situation in Iran, the nuclear watchdog’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said in a statement. He said the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran was among the targets of Israel’s strikes.
“The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country,” Grossi said.
Israel and U.S. must pay ‘heavy price’ for attacks, Iranian military spokesman says
The spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi, said on Iranian television that Israel and the United States “must pay a very heavy price, and they will, God willing, receive a very forceful slap” for the Israeli strikes on Iran.
“The Zionist enemy, with the support and likely direct aid of the United States, took this painful action, which unfortunately targeted many residential areas in the country,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the Israel Defense Forces General Staff Forum before the strikes began that he had “defined the thwarting of Iran’s nuclear program as my top priority” since taking office late last year. “Over the past year and a half, we’ve dealt with Iran’s proxies,” he said, a reference to militant groups Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. “Now, we are dealing with the snake’s head itself.”
President Donald Trump will convene his top security officials for a meeting of the U.S. National Security Council in the Situation Room at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, the White House said late Thursday.
Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital, was busy preparing for its annual Pride parade, with clubs and bars packed early on Friday, when sirens sounded across the city and a message from the Home Front Command announced the start of the attack on Iran. The bars immediately shut down and Friday’s parade was canceled.
Israel’s national airline, El Al, said it was suspending flights to and from the country due to “recent security developments” and the closure of Israeli airspace. El Al has largely kept flying despite recent conflicts in the region.
Iran’s Press TV aired initial reports that the Israeli strikes in and around Tehran have resulted in civilian casualties. The state-run broadcaster said the Israeli attacks also struck sites in Natanz, where Iran has a nuclear site, and in Khorramabad, in western Iran, home to a large missile base.
The sounds of explosions and booms have been heard in the skies over Baghdad and several Iraqi provinces. An Iraqi security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the sounds were the result of Israeli aircraft breaching Iraqi airspace and launching missiles.
Israel’s military says it struck dozens of targets in Iran
Israel’s military said that Israeli air force jets carried out strikes on dozens of Iranian military targets early Friday, in an effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that Iran is “closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” which it said would be an “existential threat” to Israel, adding that it would “continue to act as required” against such threats.
Mohammad, who lives near the Shahid Mahallati neighborhood in east Tehran, was at home when he heard a plane fly by at a very low altitude. He walked out to his terrace and saw what he said were 10 to 12 explosions in the area. Mohammad, who spoke on the condition that only his first name be used for security reasons, heard the sound of planes for about an hour after that.
Netanyahu says Israel targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists
In a video statement released early Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Operation “Rising Lion.”
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” he said. “We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.”
Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from about 3:20 a.m., according to a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the state broadcaster.
The explosions could be heard in the city’s eastern, western and central neighborhoods, with reports that those in the east were the most intense, according to the IRNA. Images shared on social media and messaging applications showed flashes of light above the darkened skyline.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said in a recorded statement that intelligence in recent months “has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon.” He added that the IDF’s strikes targeted the Iranian nuclear program to prevent “the Iranian regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate time frame.”
Mahtab, a woman in northern Tehran, said she saw the sky turn red early Friday before she heard the sound of explosions. The windows of her home shook. She could hear planes flying overhead and the sirens of emergency vehicles blaring.
Israelis gather in a shelter following sirens in Tel Aviv early Friday.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Friday in a video statement published in Hebrew and English. “This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival,” he said, adding that Iran could “produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year. It could be a few months.”
U.S. Secretary of State warns Iran not to target U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement distributed by the White House, confirmed the Israeli attacks against Iran but made clear that there is no involvement by the United States.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he said. “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.”
There was no U.S. involvement or assistance in the strikes, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation. It was not immediately clear whether the United States would participate in defensive strikes such as shooting down Iranian drones or missiles. “That’s up to the president,” the official said.
Middle East conflict
The Israel-Gaza war: On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking civilian hostages. Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948. In July 2024, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack Hamas has blamed on Israel.
Hezbollah: In late 2024, Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire deal, bringing a tenuous halt to more than a year of hostilities that included an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Israel’s airstrikes into Lebanon had been intense and deadly, killing over 1,400 people including Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime leader. The Israel-Lebanon border has a history of violence that dates back to Israel’s founding.
Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including then-President Joe Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ ceasefire resolutions.
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