Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday, in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and raised the potential for an all-war war between two bitter Middle East adversaries.
An Israeli military official said that the Israeli Air Force targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, without identifying them. The official spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation.
Air-raid sirens preventatively rang out in Israel.
The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. The Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency for the first time in 20 years on Thursday censured Iran over it not working with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more advanced ones.
Israel for years has warned it will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon, something Tehran insists it doesn’t want — though officials there have repeatedly warned it could.
This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo) Uncredited
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Here’s the latest:
Netanyahu, other officials decided Monday operation would start today
An Israeli security official says that Netanyahu and other top officials decided on Monday that the operation would start today. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
By Josef Federman
Australia and New Zealand condemn strikes
Australia and New Zealand’s governments condemned the Israeli strikes on Friday.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “alarmed by the escalation” between Israel and Iran, which she said risked further destabilizing an already volatile region.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the strikes were “a huge concern” for his government and “potentially catastrophic” for the Middle East. “The risk of miscalculation is high,” he said.
The two countries were among five that enacted travel and financial sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers Wednesday, accusing them of “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Iranian state TV says head of Revolutionary Guard is feared dead
Iranian state television says the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, is feared dead after an Israeli attack.
It added that one other top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead. The report offered few other details.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, created after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is one of the main power centers within the country’s theocracy. It also controls Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, which it has used to attack Israel twice during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Headquarters of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is ablaze
An Israeli attack on Iran has set the headquarters of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard ablaze, state television reported Friday.
A reporter on air said he was unable to get closer due to the intensity of the fire in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Multiple sites in the capital had been hit in the attack, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said targeted both sites of and officials leading Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal.
Netanyahu says Israel struck nuclear and missile sites
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country’s ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials.
He said Iran was working on a new plan to destroy Israel after its old plan, its circle of proxies, failed. He called it an intolerable threat that must be stopped.
US Sen. Reed calls Israel’s strike ‘a reckless escalation’
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the Israeli strike “a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence.”
“These strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces,” he said. Reed added: “I urge both nations to show immediate restraint, and I call on President Trump and our international partners to press for diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control.”
Dozens of commercial flights over Iran as attack begins
Dozens of commercial airliners were in Iranian airspace as the strikes took place, according to flight tracking websites.
More than an hour after the Israeli attack, some were still making their way out of Iranian airspace, but some abruptly altered course to more quickly exit the area.
Many nations’ jets already did not overfly Iran because of regional tensions.
Scope of attack remains unclear
The extent of Israel’s strikes remained unclear early Friday.
Explosions could be heard across Tehran, Iran’s capital city. There were some images circulating of damaged residential buildings.
Iranian state television also was being careful in how they described the assault, suggesting that some areas outside of Tehran that had also been hit.
Netanyahu says strikes respond to threat to Israel’s survival
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address on YouTube that the country launched “a targeted military operation roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
He added that the attacks will continue “for as many days at it takes to remove this threat.”
Israel closes its airspace
Israel closed its airspace in anticipation of Iranian retaliation.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that attacks were expected.
“In the wake of the state of Israel’s preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately,” he said in a statement.
The statement added that Katz “signed a special order declaring an emergency situation in the home front.”
“It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,” it said
Rubio says Israel took ‘unilateral action’
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the U.S. that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense, while warning Iran not to target U.S. forces in retaliation.
In a statement, he said: “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 self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
Israeli official says Air Force is targeting nuclear and military sits
An Israeli military official says that his country targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, without identifying them.
The official spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation.
The Israeli official said Iran poses three threats to state of Israel: First, he alleged that the Iranian government is advancing a “secret program” to develop nuclear weapons. The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Iran is not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Second, the Israeli official said, Iran has thousands of ballistic missiles. Finally, he said Iran has been distributing weapons and arms to proxy groups across the region like Hezbollah and Hamas.
— Josef Federman
Trump on White House lawn as explosions begin
As the explosions in Tehran started, President Donald Trump was on the lawn of the White House mingling with members of Congress. It was unclear if he had been informed but the president continued shaking hands and posing for pictures for several minutes.
Earlier in the day, Trump said an Israeli attack over Iran’s nuclear program was not imminent “but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen.”
The U.S. has been preparing for something to happen, pulling some diplomats from Iraq’s capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of U.S. troops in the wider Middle East.
The White House did not have an immediate comment Thursday night.
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