Israel attacked Iran early Friday targeted the country’s nuclear programme, missile and military sites killing at least two top military officers and many senior nuclear scientists.
It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
Israel’s attack on Iran hit several sites, including the country’s main nuclear enrichment facility, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air.
The leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen Hossein Salami, was confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported, a development that is a significant blow to Tehran’s governing theocracy and an immediate escalation of its long-simmering conflict with Israel.
The chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, Gen Mohammad Bagheri, was also confirmed dead by Iranian state television.
The Israeli airstrikes also killed at least two Iranian nuclear scientists, identified as Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi, reports said.
Other top military officials and scientists were believed to have been killed.
Ali Shamkhani, who was a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and represented Tehran at talks which sealed a landmark agreement to restore diplomatic ties with foe Saudi Arabia, has also been killed.
Iranian state TV network IRINN confirmed his death following Israel’s strikes.
Iranian state media also reported civilian deaths, including women and children, in strikes on residential areas of Tehran.
Later in the day, Iran declared that Israel’s attack amounted to a declaration of war and called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the airstrikes.
Some 200 Israeli aircrafts took part in Friday’s operation, hitting about 100 targets, Israeli army chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
In the aftermath, Defrin said Iran had launched more than 100 drones toward Israel and that “all the defence systems are acting to intercept the threats.”
Multiple sites in the Iranian capital were hit in the attack.
Also targeted were officials leading Iran’s nuclear programme and its ballistic missile arsenal.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that an Israeli strike hit Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and said it was closely monitoring radiation levels.
The strike on Iran pushed the Israeli military to its limits, requiring the use of aging air-to-air refuellers to get its fighter jets close enough to attack.
People in Iraq heard fighter jets overhead at the time of the attack. Israel previously attacked Iran from over the border in Iraq.
Tension had been growing for weeks ahead of attacks
Israel, Iraq, Iran and Jordan shut down their airspace to all flights as a precaution.
Israel is believed to have carried out numerous highly secretive attacks on Iranian soil over the years, though it has rarely acknowledged them. Most have been aimed at Iran’s nuclear programme, though Iran has also accused Israel of targeting its natural gas pipelines and of assassinating Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Over the past year, Israel has also been targeting Iran’s air defences, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defence battery in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October.
Israeli PM Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran’s theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the “brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years.”
“I believe that the day of your liberation is near,” the Israeli leader said.
One of the major targets was the Natanz nuclear facility, where fresh explosions were reported Friday, compounding earlier damage that left the site engulfed in smoke.
In the wake of the strikes, Iran declared a nationwide state of emergency, with explosions reported in provinces such as Kermanshah, Lorestan, and various parts of Tehran. Emergency services have been mobilised, and the Iranian military remains on high alert amid growing fears of further escalation.
The potential for an attack had been apparent for weeks as angst built over Iran’s nuclear programme.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he did not believe an attack was imminent but also acknowledged that it “could very well happen.” Once the attacks were underway, the US Embassy in Jerusalem issued an alert telling American government workers and their families to shelter in place until further notice.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the US that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement released by the White House.
In a sign of the far-reaching implications of the emerging conflict, Israel’s main airport was closed and benchmark Brent crude spiked on news of the attack, rising nearly 8%. Both Iran and Israel closed their airspace.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that in the aftermath of the strikes, “missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately.”
“It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,” he said in a statement.