Iran launched retaliatory attacks against Israel on Friday night in response to a major Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The Iranian attack continues. Dozens of additional missiles were launched against Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces wrote on X. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned that “the entire territory of Israel” is under threat of Iranian aerial attacks.
The retaliatory attacks come after Israel launched several waves of airstrikes against Iran on Friday morning, targeting the country’s nuclear facilities and killing high-ranking military leaders, officials, and nuclear scientists.
In a video statement on Friday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on Iran had been “in preparation for months” since September, following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, by Israel in Beirut.
Netanyahu said he was concerned that, once the “Iranian axis” in the region was broken, Iran would accelerate its nuclear program. The attack on Iran was supposed to have taken place in April but was postponed, Netanyahu added.
Key military leaders, government officials, and Iranian nuclear scientists killed. Israel’s attack on Iran comes after the UN nuclear watchdog agency declared on Thursday that Iran was not complying with nuclear non-proliferation agreements aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons. Iran responded by stating it would create a new uranium enrichment facility. Iran claims its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.
The Israeli attacks killed three important Iranian military leaders and several other officials and nuclear scientists ahead of planned talks in Oman on Sunday aimed at addressing international concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Earlier on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel had targeted Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz as part of its “Rising Lion” operation.
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu said in a recorded video message, adding that the operation “would reduce the Iranian threat to Israel’s survival.”
He said the operation would continue for “as many days as necessary to remove this threat.”
The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad smuggled precision weapons and explosive drones into Iran ahead of Friday’s attack, which were used to target Iranian air defenses, according to Israeli security officials.
Among the top Iranian officials killed in Friday’s attack is the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, a severe blow to Iran’s military chain of command.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was holding an emergency meeting to discuss the attacks.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the agency was in contact with Iranian authorities to monitor radiation levels at the Natanz enrichment facility. The extent of the damage to the facility is still unclear.
In the hours following the airstrikes, oil prices surged.
Israel was preparing for attacks
Earlier on Friday, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin had said the military was working to intercept about 100 Iranian drones heading toward Israel. At the time, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had “prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself” and promised “severe punishment.”
Air raid sirens sounded in Israel around 3 a.m. local time on Friday as a preemptive warning to Israelis to prepare for Tehran’s response. Supermarkets were packed with people stocking up on water and other supplies. Schools were closed and major events, including the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, were canceled.
Jordan, Israel, Iran, and Iraq closed their airspace to civilian traffic, while other countries diverted or canceled flights due to risks potentially posed by missiles.
Air raid sirens sounded in Jordan, with mosque announcements advising Jordanians to seek shelter. The Jordanian government, a neighbor to Israel, said it had intercepted several missiles and drones flying over the country on Friday morning.
Trump urges Tehran to strike a deal “before it’s too late”
On Friday, President Trump stated on social media that he has been urging Iran to reach a nuclear deal. ”
Two months ago, I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘strike a deal.’ They should have done it!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!”
In another post on Friday, Trump warned Iran that “the situation will only get worse” and urged Tehran to “strike a deal before there’s nothing left.”
Trump said he was giving the nation “chance after chance to strike a deal” on its nuclear program and stated that the alternative “would be much worse than anything they know, predicted, or were told.”
Trump is scheduled to meet with his National Security Council on Friday in the Situation Room, according to his daily schedule, the White House said.
Earlier on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the administration would not tolerate an Iranian nuclear weapons program, but that the US “was not involved” in the Israeli attack on Iran.
“We are not involved in attacks against Iran and our top priority is to protect American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement on Friday morning.
“Israel informed us that it believes this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary measures to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran must not target US interests or personnel.”
This comes after the State Department, on Wednesday, announced it had ordered the evacuation of all non-essential personnel from the US embassy in Baghdad due to heightened tensions with Iran. It also authorized the departure of military dependents at other locations in the Middle East due to security concerns.
Source: www.npr.org