Overnight Friday, Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and other military targets, Israeli officials confirmed.
It is believed that the Israeli strikes killed the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, as well as senior nuclear scientists, according to a source within Israel’s security establishment who spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity.
Iran’s state television reported that among the dead were Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, and nuclear physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.
Explosions were reportedly heard in Iran’s capital Tehran, and a fire broke out at the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard. Explosions were also reported in Natanz, 225 kilometers south of Tehran, home to a uranium enrichment facility with centrifuges.
An Israeli military official told the BBC that the strikes targeted “Iran’s nuclear program and other military objectives,” without being named. The official said dozens of strikes were carried out in various regions of the country, aimed at long-range missiles and targets associated with the nuclear program.
Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public statement saying Israel had launched a “targeted military operation to eliminate the threat Iran poses to Israel’s survival.”
“This operation will continue for as many days as necessary,” Netanyahu stated.
“In recent months, Iran has taken unprecedented steps to weaponize enriched uranium. If Iran is not stopped, it could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could happen within a year. It could happen within months—less than a year,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s statement said.
“These are clear and present threats to Israel’s survival,” Netanyahu emphasized.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz described the strikes as preventive and warned that retaliatory strikes from Iran are expected, involving missiles and drones. A state of emergency has been declared across Israel.
Israel, Iran, and Iran’s neighbor Iraq have all closed their airspace to air traffic.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States was not involved in the Israeli strikes on Iran and warned Tehran not to target U.S. personnel or interests.
U.S. President Donald Trump convened a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday.
There had been ongoing speculation that Israel was preparing to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
It was previously reported that Tehran announced on Thursday plans to build a new uranium enrichment plant—the third such facility in Iran.
The announcement came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution the same day condemning Iran for non-compliance. The resolution warned that the IAEA is considering referring the case to the United Nations Security Council.
The agency stated that Iran has for years refused to declare its past nuclear activities, and IAEA inspectors found traces of uranium and other suspicious evidence at undeclared sites.
Tehran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful, but continues to enrich uranium to high levels, raising concerns that it is moving closer to acquiring nuclear weapons.
Previously, Tehran also threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iran resumed its nuclear program in 2019, after the United States under President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and reinstated economic sanctions against Iran.
Talks between Washington and Tehran to revive the nuclear deal resumed in April, but after initial optimism, President Trump has since expressed doubts about the likelihood of reaching a new agreement.