Iran retaliates after Israeli strikes hit nuclear facility
Iran has retaliated after a series of Israeli strikes hit its nuclear facilities and killed top generals.
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Korea Herald
18 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
Iran fires back at Israel after onslaught targets nuclear facilities
Iran struck Israel early Saturday with barrages of missiles after a massive onslaught targeted the Islamic republic's nuclear and military facilities, and killed several top generals. Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Israel overnight, with its military calling on residents to take refuge in bomb shelters Saturday morning. The Israeli military said dozens of missiles -- some intercepted -- had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran. Smoke was billowing above skyscrapers in downtown Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist reported, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had attacked dozens of targets in Israel. Israel's firefighting service said its teams were responding to the aftermath of Iranian missile strikes, including working to rescue people trapped in a high-rise building. Rescuers said 34 people had been wounded in the Gush Dan area, including a woman who later died of her injuries, according to Israeli media reports. Resident Chen Gabizon told AFP he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert notification. "After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place," he said. In Iran's capital Tehran early Saturday, fire and heavy smoke billowed from Mehrabad airport, an AFP journalist said, as local media reported a blast in the area. Iran said earlier it had activated its air-defence system and explosions could be heard across the capital. Dozens of people took to the streets of Tehran overnight to cheer their country's military response, with some waving national flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans. Iran's ambassador to the UN said Friday that 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Israel. After a day of back-and-forth bombardments, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for the two nations to cease fire. "Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," he wrote on X late Friday. US officials said they were helping Israel defend against the missile attacks, even as Washington insisted it had nothing to do with Israel's strikes on Iran. US President Donald Trump agreed on a call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that "dialogue and diplomacy" were needed to calm the crisis, Starmer's office said. Trump also spoke with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday, US officials said, without elaborating. Iran's missile salvo came hours after Israel said its widespread air raids had killed several top Iranian generals, including most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards' air force. It had launched several rounds of strikes that hit about 200 targets including nuclear facilities and air bases. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Israel "to ruin" during a televised address. In Israel, Netanyahu issued a statement calling on the Iranian public to unite against their own government. But he also warned more attacks were coming. "In the past 24 hours, we have taken out top military commanders, senior nuclear scientists, the Islamic regime's most significant enrichment facility and a large portion of its ballistic missile arsenal," Netanyahu said. While stressing that it was not involved in the Israeli attacks, the United States warned Iran not to attack its personnel or interests. Tehran nevertheless said Washington would be "responsible for consequences". The strikes killed Iran's highest-ranking military officer, armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, Iranian media reported. Khamenei swiftly appointed new commanders to replace those killed. "The senior chain of command of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had assembled in an underground command centre to prepare for an attack on the State of Israel," the Israeli military said, adding that its attacks had killed most of them. Iran confirmed that the Guards' aerospace commander had been killed, along with "a group of brave and dedicated fighters". AFP images showed a gaping hole in the side of a Tehran residential building that appeared to have sustained a targeted strike. Tasnim news agency said six nuclear scientists were among the dead. Oil prices surged while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes. The conflict raised questions as to whether Sunday's sixth round of talks planned between the United States and Iran to seek a deal on Iran's nuclear programme would go ahead in Oman. After the first wave of strikes on Friday, Trump urged Iran to "make a deal", adding that Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table". Iran confirmed that above-ground sections of the Natanz enrichment plant had been destroyed, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said radiation levels outside the site "remained unchanged". "Most of the damage is on the surface level," said the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi. Iran said there was only limited damage to the Fordo and Isfahan nuclear sites. The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied. Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence had concluded that Iran was approaching the "point of no return" on its nuclear programme. Israel had called for global action after the IAEA accused Iran on Thursday of non-compliance with its obligations. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a largely moribund 2015 agreement with major powers, but still short of the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead. (AFP)
Straits Times
20 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Israel's strikes on Iran's most important nuclear facilities: Here's what you need to know about them
Israel's strikes on Iran's most important nuclear facilities: Here's what you need to know about them Iran's nuclear industry is well-established, with important centres spread over the country, and some buried deep underground, to protect from the kind of aerial attack Israel has just launched. Here are the main centres of Iran's nuclear programme: Natanz Roughly 225km south of Tehran, the capital, Natanz is considered Iran's main centre for uranium enrichment, and it was a prime target of the Israeli strikes. The damage to it appeared to be severe. It is only partially underground and was recently reinforced. It contains a range of sophisticated centrifuges, including the most advanced models, for enriching uranium to high levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, says there are nearly 14,000 centrifuges at work there, with thousands more in place but inactive. Uranium enriched at low levels can be used as fuel for civilian uses, such as producing energy. Highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons. Natanz has been targeted in the past, with a computer virus, Stuxnet, some 15 years ago, and with sabotage and explosions as recently as 2021. Iran has always repaired the damage and increased the sophistication of its centrifuges. Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, confirmed on June 13 that Natanz had been hit but said that no radiation leak had been detected so far. He condemned attacks on nuclear facilities in general, as he has done in Ukraine, as very dangerous. 'Any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region and beyond,' he told the agency's board of governors in Vienna. Fordo Iran's best-protected nuclear site, Fordo, near the city of Qom, is deep inside a mountain, estimated to be about 800 metres below ground to protect it from bombing. Israel did not appear to have attacked it. To do so would require repeated use of huge 'bunker buster' bombs, and most experts think that cannot be done by Israel alone, without US help. Fordo was operated secretly by Iran until it was exposed in 2009. It contains Iran's most advanced centrifuges and is considered crucial for Iran to enrich uranium to 60 per cent, close to bomb grade. It is said to contain close to 3,000 sophisticated centrifuges, more than half of them the most modern type, with the capacity to install at least 1,000 more. Parchin Parchin is a military complex south-east of Tehran, where Iran has tested high explosives, which can be used as triggers for nuclear warheads. It is widely suspected that the site was used in the past by Iran in efforts to weaponise enriched uranium. Iran has denied ever doing nuclear work there but has refused to allow the IAEA access it has demanded. Bushehr Bushehr is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it uses Russian fuel that Russia then takes back when it is spent. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Those who spoke bravely are all dead': Donald Trump says he gave Iran 60-day ultimatum; warns 'it will only get worse' as Israel holds lethal US weapons
A major flashpoint in the Middle East erupted into open military confrontation overnight, with Israel launching its most expansive airstrikes on Iran in decades, targeting the country's military command and nuclear infrastructure. In a dramatic twist, US President Donald Trump claimed credit for setting the stage, citing a 60-day ultimatum he says he gave Iran, even as his own officials denied direct American involvement in the operation. 'Today is Day 61': Trump ties himself to Israeli strikes Despite earlier statements by senior Trump administration figures, including secretary of state Marco Rubio , distancing the US from the Israeli attack, Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to suggest the strikes followed a countdown he had initiated. "Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to 'make a deal,'" Trump wrote. "Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!" In another lengthy post, Trump described warning Iran in "the strongest of words" and claimed Iranian commanders "didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" He added, "There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter... by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left." Israel's Operation Rising Lion Early Friday, Israeli fighter jets and drones struck key Iranian military and nuclear facilities in what Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed "Operation Rising Lion." The strikes killed six top nuclear scientists and several senior military commanders. Israeli officials declared the operation a necessary pre-emptive strike to dismantle Iran's weapons capabilities. "This operation will continue for as many days as it takes," Netanyahu said in a video message, warning of further action against the Iranian regime. Iran retaliates Within hours, Iran responded with a heavy barrage of ballistic missiles aimed at Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Explosions echoed across central Israel into early Saturday as missile defense systems were activated and civilians were urged to take shelter. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted military airbases and weapons production centers that were 'sources of the criminal aggression.' A senior Iranian official told CNN, 'Everyone will feel it,' referencing further possible retaliation and threats to strike regional bases of any nation that aids Israel. Trump walks a fine line While Trump openly praised the Israeli operation—calling it "excellent" in remarks to ABC News—he continued to insist the US played no active military role. "We gave them a chance, and they didn't take it. They got hit—very hard. And there's more to come. A lot more," he told to ABC News. Still, the mixed signals out of Washington have raised eyebrows. Just a day earlier, Trump had called for peaceful diplomatic resolution with Iran.
