Iran says 'gates of hell will open' after Israeli attack as Trump pushes for deal
US President Donald Trump says it is unclear if Iran still has a nuclear program after Israel's strikes on the country.
He told the Reuters news agency he was not concerned about a regional war breaking out as a result of Friday's wave of attacks, and that he was fully aware of Israel's plans beforehand.
"We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death," he said.
"I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out.
"They can still work out a deal however, it's not too late."
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Oman on Sunday. It would be the sixth round of negotiations over a possible deal to halt Iran's progress towards building a possible nuclear weapon.
But Mr Trump told Reuters he was now unsure if they would take place.
Israel's strikes blasted Iran's huge underground nuclear site, wiped out its entire top echelon of military commanders and killed nuclear scientists in the biggest ever direct attack between the foes.
Iran said "the gates of hell will open" in retaliation, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were only the start of its campaign.
"Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival," Mr Netanyahu said early on Friday in a televised address that invoked the failure of the world to prevent the Holocaust in World War Two.
Israel's operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat," he said. "Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had "unleashed its wicked and bloody" hand and would suffer "a bitter fate".
Shortly after the strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel acted alone, without US involvement. "Israel took unilateral action against Iran," Mr Rubio said.
Mr Trump had earlier said such strikes were likely, but they he did not want Israel to take military action while the US was trying to negotiate a deal with Iran. Such a deal would likely involve Iran agreeing not to build nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
The strikes followed a UN watchdog finding that Iran was not complying with its "non-proliferation" obligations, designed to prevent it building nuclear weaponry. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.
Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed. That would be a stunning decapitation of the military, reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia last year.
Among the generals killed on Friday were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami.
Major General Mohammad Pakpour, who was swiftly promoted as Guards commander, vowed retaliation in a letter to the Supreme Leader read out on state television: "The gates of hell will open to the child-killing regime."
Twenty people Reuters spoke to inside Iran described an atmosphere of fear and anger, with some people rushing to change money and others seeking a way out of the country to safety.
"People on my street rushed out of their homes in panic, we were all terrified," said Marziyeh, 39, who was awakened by a huge blast in Natanz, a city that houses the huge underground facility where Iran purifies the uranium that Israel said could be used to make a nuclear bomb.
While some Iranians quietly hoped the attack would lead to changes in Iran's hardline clerical leadership, others vowed to rally behind the authorities.
"I will fight and die for our right to a nuclear program. Israel and its ally America cannot take it away from us with these attacks," said Ali, a member of the pro-government Basij militia in Qom.
Iranian media showed images of destroyed apartment blocks, and said nearly 80 civilians were killed in attacks that targeted nuclear scientists in their beds and wounded more than 300 people.
Israel said that Iran had launched around 100 drones towards Israeli territory in retaliation on Friday. But Iran denied this and there were no reports of any drones reaching Israeli targets.
The United Nations Security Council was due to meet on Friday at Tehran's request. Iran said in a letter to the council that it would respond decisively and proportionally to Israel's "unlawful" and "cowardly" acts.
Australia has called on "all parties to refrain from actions and rhetoric that would further exacerbate tensions".
"We all understand … the threat of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said shortly after the strikes. "It represents a threat to international peace and security and we urge the parties to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy."
Iran's ability to retaliate with weapons fired by its regional proxies has been degraded over the past year, with the downfall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the decimation of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Reuters/ABC
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