Iran retaliates after Israeli strikes target its nuclear program and military
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel into Saturday morning, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear program and its armed forces.
Israel's assault used warplanes — as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, according to officials — to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks.
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The military said seven soldiers were lightly wounded when a missile hit central Israel, without specifying where — the first report of Israeli military casualties since the initial Israeli strikes. U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an Associated Press journalist saw burned-out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one whose front was nearly entirely torn away. Residents of a central Israeli city hit Friday night, Rishon Lezion, said the explosion was so powerful it shook their shelter door open. 'We thought, that's it, the house is gone, and in fact half of the house was gone,' said Moshe Shani. Israel's main international airport said it will remain closed until further notice. Indications of a new Israeli attack Israel's army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said Israel had attacked more than 400 targets across Iran, including 40 in Tehran, where dozens of fighter jets were 'operating freely.' He said it was the deepest point Israel's air force had operated. Defrin said fighter jets struck over 40 'missile-related targets and advanced air defense array systems' across Iran. A governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran said 30 troops and a rescuer had been killed there, with 55 others wounded. Gov. Bahram Sarmast's remarks were the latest acknowledgment of mass casualties. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Iranian state television reported online that air defenses were firing in the cities of Khorramabad, Kermanshah and Tabriz. Footage from Tabriz showed black smoke rising. The sound of explosions and Iranian air defense systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran. Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. 'More than a few weeks' to repair nuclear facilities Israel attacked Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage there. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility. U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said. Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, including 'infrastructure for enriched uranium conversion,' and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. 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Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's aerospace division, which oversees its arsenal of ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. On Saturday, Khamenei named a new leader for the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division: Gen. Majid Mousavi. ___ Lidman and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel's attack on Iran marks moment of truth for Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on the mission of his lifetime. For years, the veteran leader has made the destruction of Iran's nuclear program his top priority, raising the issue in speech after speech in apocalyptic terms. Now Netanyahu's moment of truth has arrived. After battling Iran's allies across the region following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Netanyahu has turned his attention to what he describes as the 'head of the octopus,' with an unprecedented and open-ended military offensive against Iran and its nuclear program. It is an aggressive gamble made possible by a confluence of factors, including the weakening of Iranian-backed militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon, and the reelection and support of U.S. President Donald Trump. But success is not guaranteed, and the outcome of the escalating conflict could determine the fate of Netanyahu's government and shape his legacy. Here's a closer look: Netanyahu's history of warnings on Iran Netanyahu began warning about the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran in the 1990s — even before his first term as prime minister at the end of the decade. He returned to office in 2009 and has served as prime minister almost continuously since then, rarely missing an opportunity to portray the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to Israel's existence and menace to the world. In 2012, he famously displayed a crude cartoon illustrating what he said was Iran's march toward the bomb during a speech to the U.N. assembly. Three years later, he delivered a controversial speech to the U.S. Congress arguing against then-President Barack Obama's emerging nuclear deal with Iran. The speech infuriated the White House and failed to block the deal. But it delighted Republicans and laid the groundwork for Trump to pull out of the agreement three years later. Netanyahu has frequently compared Iran's theocratic leadership to the Nazis, at times drawing the ire of Holocaust scholars and survivor groups. He turned to that familiar playbook this week as he announced the latest attacks on Iran. 'Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were the victims of a Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime,' he said. 'Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear Holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime.' Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. But its enrichment of uranium to near-weapons grade levels and failure to cooperate with international inspectors have raised doubts about those claims. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency has warned that Iran has enough enriched uranium to make several bombs. The agency censured Iran this week for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations, one day before the Israeli strikes began. Why attack Iran now? Netanyahu for years has threatened to strike Iran, repeatedly saying that all options were 'on the table.' But never before has he pulled the trigger due to opposition by domestic rivals and security chiefs, questions about the feasibility of such a risky operation and the opposition of a string of U.S. presidents. But things have changed over the past two years, and Netanyahu now believes he has a chance to shape the region in his own image. Since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel has systematically degraded a network of Iranian allies across the region. The war in Gaza has decimated the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but at a devastating price for the territory's civilian population. Last year, Israel also inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, severely weakening the group and contributing to the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, another key Iranian ally. And during a brief round of fighting with Iran last year, Israel knocked out much of its enemies' air-defense systems. With Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' in tatters and Iran unable to defend itself against Israel's air force, there was little to deter Israel from taking action this week. Trump provided the final piece of the puzzle. After surprising Israel earlier this year with his resumption of nuclear talks with Iran, Trump grew frustrated with the lack of progress in those talks. Notified about the Israeli plans, the U.S. president appears to have put up little resistance, creating a rare window of opportunity for Israel. Will Netanyahu succeed? It is too early to say. The Israeli operation appears to have gotten off to a smooth start – with Israel striking dozens of targets and killing senior Iranian military figures. But it remains unclear how much damage Israel has inflicted on Iran's nuclear program. For now, the divisive and embattled Netanyahu appears to be riding a wave of support at home. Even the political opposition, which tried to topple Netanyahu in a parliamentary vote earlier in the week, has come out in support of the Iran operation. But things could change quickly. After an initial wave of support for Israel's war against Hamas, the country is now deeply divided. With the fighting now over 20 months old, many believe Netanyahu has unnecessarily dragged out the conflict in a self-serving campaign to remain in office. Likewise, public support for the Iranian operation could quickly turn if Iran's missile attacks on Israel cause heavy casualties or continue to disrupt life in Israel for an extended period. A debacle on the battlefield – such as the capture of an Israeli fighter pilot by Iran – could also reverse Netanyahu's fortunes. Netanyahu's hints that he is seeking regime change in Iran — a difficult and complicated task — could further hurt his standing. Why is success so important for Netanyahu? After a record-setting tenure in office, Netanyahu has a complicated legacy. He is the object of affection and adoration among his supporters who see him as a wily politician and distinguished statesman. But he is intensely disdained by his many detractors, who see him as a divisive and populist cynic. Few on either side would disagree that his legacy has been permanently tarnished by the Oct. 7 attacks, the deadliest day in Israel's history. Netanyahu now sees an opportunity to reshape that legacy once again and go down in history as the man who saved his country from nuclear annihilation, not the prime minister who presided over its darkest moment.
