TEHRAN (Web Desk) – Israel launched widescale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders and that this was start of a prolonged operation to prevent 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 retaliatory missile and drone strikes.
Israel strikes Iran: What we know so far
Israel said Friday it had carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, promising to continue its campaign and “achieve much more”. Blasts were reported in Tehran and at a key uranium enrichment site.
Here is what we know so far:
- Israel’s military said its jets carried out strikes on “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran”.
- It said 200 jets were involved in the raids, striking about 100 targets.
- Blasts reported in the capital, where state television said fire and smoke were seen at a key site for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the city’s east.
- Damage to residential buildings and civilian deaths were also reported.
- State television said Natanz, in Iran’s central Isfahan province and home to a key nuclear site, had been hit “several times”.
- The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Natanz was among the sites targeted in the attacks and said it was in touch with Iranian authorities and its inspectors in the country “regarding radiation levels”.
- Additional strikes were reported against three military sites in Iran’s northwest.
- Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami and armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri in the attacks.
- It also reported 50 people, including women and children, had been injured.
UN chief urges Iran, Israel to show ‘maximum restraint’
“The Secretary-General condemns any military escalation in the Middle East. He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme are underway,” a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said following Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday.
“The Secretary-General asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford.”
Oil surges, stocks fall on Middle East fears as Israel strikes Iran
Oil prices soared more than 12% and stocks sank on Friday after Israel launched “preemptive” strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites and warned of more to come, stoking fears of a full-blown war.
Investors ran for the hills on news of the attacks and a warning from Tehran that its regional foe faced a “bitter and painful” fate, while US President Donald Trump said a “massive conflict” in the region was possible.
While Tel Aviv said it had struck military and nuclear targets, Iran said residential buildings had been hit.
Iran launches about 100 drones towards Israel: Israeli military
Israel’s military said Iran launched about 100 drones toward Israel on Friday and that it was making an effort to shoot them down, following a wave of Israeli air strikes across the Islamic republic.
“Iran launched approximately 100 UAVs towards Israeli territory, which we are working to intercept,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told journalists.
He added that Israel’s strikes on Iran involved 200 fighter jets striking about 100 targets across Iran.
Israel committed crime with ‘satanic, bloodstained hands’, says Iran’s supreme leader
“The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands,” said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following Israeli strikes on Iran.
“That regime should anticipate a severe punishment. By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished.”
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,” he warned.
Saudi Arabia condemns ‘blatant Israeli aggressions’ on Iran
Riyadh, once a rival of Tehran before reconciling about two years ago, condemned a wave of strikes that Israel said it launched on Friday against nuclear and military sites in Iran.
“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,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Iran says has ‘legitimate right’ to respond to Israel attack
Iran warned it has a “legal and legitimate right” to respond to Israel’s deadly attacks Friday on multiple cities and nuclear facilities in the Islamic republic.
“Responding to this aggression is Iran’s legal and legitimate right in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter,” said the foreign ministry in a statement, adding that Iran’s armed forces “will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation with all their might.”
Iranian foreign ministry says US ‘responsible for consequences’ of Israel attack
Iran said the United States would be “responsible for the consequences” of Israel’s deadly attacks on Friday on multiple cities and nuclear sites in the Islamic republic.
“The Zionist regime’s aggressive actions against Iran cannot have been carried out without the coordination and permission of the United States,” the foreign ministry said, adding that the US was “responsible for the dangerous impact and consequences of the Zionist regime’s adventurism”.
Iran Guards vow revenge after killing of chief in Israeli attack
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed revenge after the killing of its chief Hossein Salami on Friday in Israeli attacks on the country.
The attacks “will not remain unanswered and (Israel) must await harsh and regrettable revenge”, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a statement read on state TV.
