Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his country would continue to target Iran for “as long as necessary” following airstrikes aimed at Iran’s nuclear and military sites, leading to a new conflict in the Middle East.
The attacks, which followed years of rising tensions, hit key facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, resulting in the deaths of the top three military leaders in Iran along with prominent scientists, and aimed to cripple Iran’s air defence systems.
In response, Iran launched a series of ballistic missile strikes against Israel on Friday night. A US official informed the Financial Times that American forces assisted in intercepting these missiles aimed at Israel.
Tel Aviv was among the cities targeted by Iran, with social media sharing videos that appeared to show missiles striking the area. According to Israeli emergency services, thirty-four individuals have been injured due to rocket attacks in the region.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, warned Israel of “heavy blows,” stating that it could not escape repercussions after instigating the conflict.
“They should not think that they can hit us and walk away. No. They initiated this war,” he asserted in a pre-recorded televised address late on Friday.
Earlier that day, Netanyahu indicated in a video that Israeli operations would persist until the threat was significantly diminished.
In a separate video directed at the Iranian people, he claimed that the strikes were “opening the way for you to gain your freedom,” adding, “More is coming. The regime is clueless about what it has faced and what is to come.”
On his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump warned Iran that upcoming “pre-planned attacks” would be “even more severe,” stressing the urgency for Iran to negotiate regarding its nuclear program before it faced dire consequences.
Trump later reiterated an earlier ultimatum, stating: “I gave Iran a 60-day deadline to reach an agreement. They should have acted! Today marks day 61.”
For over two decades, Israel has perceived Iran’s nuclear development as a significant threat and has opposed diplomatic negotiations involving the US and other nations, which Iran claims are for peaceful purposes.
US administrations, starting from George W. Bush, have aimed to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran out of concern for escalating the conflict, but Trump has shown less apprehension.
In an interview with ABC News, he described Israel’s actions as “excellent.”
An Israeli military source noted that the operations could last for about two weeks, with reports stating multiple strikes had already been executed.
Massive explosions startled Tehran around 3:30 a.m. local time on Friday, with state media showing smoke rising from the main command unit of the Revolutionary Guards, the regime’s strongest military faction, in eastern Tehran.
Additional strikes were reported later on Friday, according to local news outlets.
Iran’s state news agency claimed that several top military leaders, including Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, were among the casualties. The head of Iran’s armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, was also reported killed, along with Israel’s confirmation of the death of the IRGC air force commander.
Prominent physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and former head of Iran’s atomic agency, Fereydoon Abbasi, were also reported dead, according to state news.
Unofficial figures from Iranian media suggested that 78 individuals were killed and 329 injured due to the Israeli attacks on military and residential areas in Tehran, though it was unclear how many casualties were civilians.
As the conflict escalated, US stocks fell sharply. The S&P 500 dropped by 1.1 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices surged by as much as 12.5 percent following the strikes before settling at $74.36 per barrel, up by 7.2 percent.
The Israel Defense Forces reported that they had inflicted damage on an underground facility in Natanz, Iran’s primary site for uranium enrichment, which is capable of producing both nuclear fuel and weapons-grade material.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization mentioned some radiation and chemical contamination at Natanz; however, it assessed that neither Natanz nor another underground facility at Fordow suffered significant damage. Attacks on Isfahan, another key nuclear site, resulted in fires in multiple warehouses, they added.
In their efforts to establish air superiority, the IDF confirmed conducting major strikes on Iran’s air defence systems, including bases located in Hamadan and Tabriz in western Iran. “The Tabriz base was destroyed during the attack,” the IDF stated.
Israeli security officials also indicated that Mossad agents had smuggled drone explosives and precision weaponry into Iran, targeting missile launchers and surface-to-air missile systems.
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This attack occurred just ahead of the sixth round of negotiations scheduled for Sunday between the Trump administration and Iran, aimed at addressing the nuclear crisis.
Trump noted on Thursday that negotiations were “relatively close to a good agreement,” while expressing his desire to prevent Israeli attacks that might jeopardize those negotiations. Yet, he also implied that strikes might aid in moving the discussions forward.
Netanyahu, who has been advocating for American support of military action against Iran, claimed in a video message that Tehran was delaying its negotiations, implying that its nuclear enrichment must cease in response to US and Israeli demands.
“That is why we have no choice but to act swiftly,” he asserted.
The strikes faced immediate backlash from Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Turkey, with Riyadh condemning the action as a violation of international law.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that America was “not involved in the strikes against Iran and our primary focus is on protecting American forces in the region.”
“Israel informed us that they believed this action was necessary for their self-defence,” Rubio noted. “To be clear, Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that the strikes could not have occurred without US approval, asserting that Washington bore responsibility for the dangerous consequences of this aggression.
This week, Tehran reiterated its warnings that it might retaliate against American bases in the region if attacked.
For years, Tehran has been enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels. Both Israel and the US have committed to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
While Tehran maintains its programme is for civilian applications, it possesses the ability to produce the fissile material necessary for a nuclear weapon in under two weeks.
On Thursday, the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN atomic oversight organization, declared Iran to be in breach of its non-proliferation commitments, marking the first such censure in twenty years.
The airstrikes culminate nearly two years of escalating conflict in the Middle East that began with the war between Israel and Hamas, ignited by the Palestinian militant organization’s attack on October 7, 2023.
Additional reporting by Bita Ghaffari in Tehran and Jamie Smyth and Steff Chávez in New York
