Israel strikes Iran, hitting nuclear facility and killing military chiefs and scientists
Israel launched a major attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, targeting "dozens" of sites including nuclear facilities, military commanders and scientists.
Accusing the government in Tehran of beginning to build nuclear warheads, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was aimed at "rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival," adding that it would take "many days".
"We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme," Netanyahu said in a recorded televised address.
"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 programme."
Natanz is Iran's main uranium enrichment facility, which is located in mountainous terrain about 220 kilometres south of Tehran. It is a heavily fortified site and much of the facility is underground.
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Iranian media said that explosions were reported in Natanz, Tehran, and elsewhere; and that the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, had been killed.
Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the country's armed forces, Gholamali Rashid, the deputy commander of the Iranian armed forces, were also reported killed as well as a number of other senior military figures.
Salami's replacement was announced within hours of his killing, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointing Major General Mohammad Pakpour to lead the IRGC.
Two leading scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, were also reported killed.
Abbasi was the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation from 2011 to 2013, who survived an assassination attempt in 2010, whilst Tehranchi was a theoretical physicist. They appear to have been targeted in their homes.
Iran says that its nuclear programme is peaceful and denies seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
The attacks come one day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog which monitors Iran's nuclear programme, said that Iran was not complying with its nonproliferation obligations.
Iran said in response that it planned to open a new enrichment facility, and said the IAEA's statement called into question the organisation's credibility.
'Deeply concerning'
The IAEA said on Friday it is monitoring the situation in Iran. It confirmed that Natanz had been targeted in the attacks, but said Iranian authorities reported no elevated radiation levels.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said: "This development is deeply concerning. I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances as it could harm both people and the environment.
"Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards as well as for international peace and security."
Iranian media reported that 78 people have been killed and 329 injured in residential areas in Tehran. State television said they included a number of children.
Nour News, reported several "loud explosions" in and around Iran's capital, adding that the country's air defence system was on full alert, and all flights at Imam Khomeini international airport have been suspended.
Photos from Tehran showed badly damaged and scorched apartment buildings which appeared to have been bit by airstrikes.
Less than an hour after the attacks, Khamenei said Israel would face a "severe punishment", and confirmed that the military officials and scientists had been killed.
"With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see," Khamenei wrote on X.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attack as a "declaration of war" while President Masoud Pezeshkian said "Iran will make the enemy regret its foolish act".
Iran launched scores of drones towards Israel in retaliation soon afterwards. Israeli media reported that these had been intercepted, including over Syria and Saudi Arabia. Jordan's state news agency reported that it was intercepting a number of missiles and drones that had entered its airspace.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the US was not involved in the strikes, and urged Iran not to target American interests or personnel in the region.
"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," Rubio said in a statement.
Regional condemnation
Regional countries condemned Israel's attack.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms."
It said Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had spoken to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday.
Turkey's foreign ministry said: “This attack, which is a clear violation of international law, is a provocation serving Israel’s strategic destabilisation policy in the region.
“The fact that these attacks took place during an intensified period of negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear programme shows that the Netanyahu government does not wish to resolve any issue through diplomatic means and does not refrain from risking regional stability and global peace for its own interests.”
Qatar's foreign ministry said: “The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation and deep denunciation of the large-scale Israeli attack targeting the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“This dangerous escalation comes as part of a repeated pattern of reckless policies that threaten the security and stability of the region, obstruct diplomatic efforts, and push the region toward further escalation.”
On Wednesday, Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh had warned that his country would target US military bases in the region if nuclear talks break down and the US launches attacks.
Democratic senator Chris Murphy, said that Israel’s decision to act unilaterally was a measure of Trump's weakness on the world stage.
"Israel's attack on Iran, clearly intended to scuttle the Trump administration's negotiations with Iran, risks a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America and is further evidence of how little respect world powers - including our own allies - have for President Trump," Murphy said.
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