An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv on Friday.Tomer Neuberg/The Associated Press
Latest updates:
- Iranian missiles struck Israel in retaliation for deadly Israeli attacks on nuclear sites and military leaders. Israel’s paramedic services said 34 people were wounded.
- The U.S. military is helping intercept missiles that Iran fired in retaliation at Israel, U.S. officials told the Associated Press and Reuters.
- UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Israeli strikes destroyed the above-ground section of Iran’s main nuclear facility at Natanz.
Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists – a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.
Iran retaliated late Friday by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below.
Israel’s attack on Iran puts a leader addicted to war in the spotlight
Israel’s ongoing airstrikes and intelligence operation and Iran’s retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Here’s what to know:
Israel hit nuclear sites, killed Revolutionary Guard chief
Israel’s strikes set off explosions in the capital of Tehran as Israel said it was targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities. Iran’s UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the Israeli attacks.
Two regional sources told Reuters that at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed.
Among those killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile program, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
General Hossein Salami, chief of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, speaking at an event on May 15. Salami was among the military leaders killed in Israel's strikes.Vahid Salemi/The Associated Press
Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate.
Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometres southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby.
Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, too, and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan.
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. He said all the electrical infrastructure and emergency power generators were destroyed, as well as a section of the facility where uranium was enriched up to 60 per cent.
The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged the infrastructure there, he said.
Iran retaliates with missile strikes, drones
Iran retaliated by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel late Friday, with explosions flaring in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shaking buildings below.
“We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message in which he vowed revenge.
Israel’s paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an Associated Press journalist saw burned out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away.
Israeli Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv on Friday.Tomer Neuberg/The Associated Press
The U.S. military is helping intercept missiles that Iran fired in retaliation at Israel, the Associated Press and Reuters both reported, citing U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.
From Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, warning that Israel’s attacks “will only get worse.” He previously said the U.S. had not been involved in Israel’s attack.
In its first response Friday, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.
The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah issued a statement that offered condolences and condemned the attack, but did not threaten to join Iran in its retaliation. Hezbollah’s latest war with Israel – which killed much of the group’s senior leadership – ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November.
Israel’s air force and spy agency carried out its operation
Israel’s military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
It was not possible to independently confirm the officials’ claims.
The first wave of strikes had given Israel “significant freedom of movement” in Iran’s skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with the media.
Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making. In a video statement sent to journalists Friday, he said he ordered plans for the attack last November, soon after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, one of Iran’s strongest proxies. Netanyahu said the attack was planned for April but was postponed.
Unclear how close Iran is to building a bomb
Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike. Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.
“This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to “remove this threat.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it launched operation 'Rising Lion' to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s survival.
The Associated Press
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons.
Over the past year, Israel has been targeting Iran’s air defenses, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October.
With reports from Reuters