Iran says Israel attack a 'declaration of war'
Iran called Israel's wave of strikes on Friday, June 13, a declaration of war, while US President Donald Trump warned Tehran of "even more brutal" attacks if it does not make a deal on its nuclear program. Israel said its air strikes had killed several top generals, including most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards' air force, while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel it faced a "bitter and painful" fate over the attacks, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a "declaration of war" and President Masoud Pezeshkian said "Iran will make the enemy regret its foolish act." The Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones, with air defenses intercepting them outside Israeli territory, while neighboring Jordan said it targeted drones and missiles that violated its airspace.
Trump urged Iran on Friday to "make a deal," warning of "even more brutal" attacks to come after Israel launched deadly strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, saying that "there has already been great death and destruction." The United States underlined that it was not involved in the Israeli action and warned Iran not to attack its personnel or interests, but Tehran said Washington would be "responsible for consequences."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program," taking aim at nuclear scientists and the main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. The strikes would "continue as many days as it takes," the Israeli premier said, while the military said intelligence showed Iran was approaching the "point of no return" on its nuclear program.
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, while state media said a senior adviser to the supreme leader had himself been wounded.
"The senior chain of command of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had assembled in an underground command center 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 the Guards aerospace commander had been killed, along with "a group of brave and dedicated fighters."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the "precise targeting of senior commanders... sends a strong and clear message: those who work toward Israel's destruction will be eliminated".
Official: 95 injured
State media said civilians were killed, without providing an exact figure, while an emergency services official said 95 people had been wounded. Tasnim news agency said six nuclear scientists were among the dead. Tehran's streets were deserted except for queues at petrol stations, a familiar sight in times of crisis.
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Air traffic was halted at Tehran's main gateway, Imam Khomeini International Airport, while Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspace. Israel declared a state of emergency as anxieties grew amid a wave of uncertainty gripped the region. Oil prices surged while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes, which came after Trump's warning of a "massive conflict" in the region.
Trump had also said the United States was drawing down staff in the Middle East, after Iran had threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict broke out. Prior to the strikes, Trump said he believed a deal on Iran's nuclear program was "fairly close," cautioning however that an Israeli attack on its enemy could wreck the chances of an agreement.
Trump hopes for talks
With the violence raising questions on whether a sixth round of talks planned between the US and Iran would still take place on Sunday in Oman, Trump said Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table."
Confirming Natanz had been among Israel's targets, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was "closely monitoring" the situation as the Israeli military said it hit the underground uranium enrichment centrifuges at the site. "Most of the damage is on the surface level," said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.
Israel sees Iran as an existential threat, and Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza.
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Euronews
8 minutes ago
- Euronews
Iran says nuclear talks 'meaningless' despite 'second chance' offer
The Israeli Defence Forces said "dozens" of Iranian missiles were launched into Israel in multiple waves of strikes in the early hours of Saturday. Sirens and the boom of explosions, possible from Israeli interceptors, could be heard in the sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At least three were killed in Israel, and dozens were wounded. Two of those died after an Iranian missile struck near homes in central Israel early Saturday morning, also injuring 19 others, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. Local media had earlier reported that one woman had been killed in the Tel Aviv area. The IDF said "some of the missiles were intercepted," adding that "Search and Rescue forces are currently operating in a number of locations across the country in which reports of fallen projectiles were received." Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv said it has treated seven people hurt by the second Iranian barrage; six had light injuries and the seventh was moderately wounded. At least 34 people were injured in Tel Aviv during the first wave of strikes. Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote that direct hits were reported in central Israel, wounding five people. It said several buildings were hit by Iranian missiles. The Israeli military urged civilians to head to shelter amid the fresh wave of missiles, but have since permitted them to leave again. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen post on X late on Friday that she had called Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and urged "all parties to act with maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the situation." The sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets was also echoing across the centre of Iran's capital, Tehran, shortly after midnight on Saturday. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, posting a video on X of a column of smoke and orange flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. Israel's ongoing attacks on Iranian nuclear sites killed 78 people and wounded more that 320 on Friday, said Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. The strikes killed generals and scientists, but the ambassador told the UN Security Council that 'the overwhelming majority' of victims were civilians. The ambassador spoke shortly after Iran's first barrage of long-range missiles targeting Tel Aviv, which wounded at least 34 people, according to the Israeli paramedic service. As Iranian projectiles and Israeli interceptor rockets left trails of smoke and flame across the night sky on Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to let Israel 'escape safely from this great crime.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy. 'Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' Guterres wrote on X on Saturday. US President Donald Trump has framed the volatile moment in the Middle East as a possible "second chance' for Iran's leadership to avoid further destruction "before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.' However, an Iranian spokesperson later called nuclear talks with the US "meaningless" after Israel's barrage of strikes on the country. Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that he had given Iran a "60 day ultimatum to make a deal", and that Friday marked "day 61." The White House has insisted that Washington was not involved in Israel's military operation, although anonymous US officials have said the Trump administration was aware in advance of Israel's planned large-scale attacks on Iran. In an interview with ABC News on Friday morning, Trump said the Israeli attack on Iran was 'excellent' and again previewed more attacks to come. 'We gave them a chance and they didn't take it,' Trump told ABC's Jon Karl. 'They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come. A lot more.' The US president pressed on Iran as he met his national security team in the Situation Room on Friday to discuss the tricky path forward following Israel's devastating strikes, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to keep up for 'as many days as it takes' to decapitate Iran's nuclear programme. While the White House said it had no involvement in the strikes, Trump highlighted that Israel used its deep arsenal of weaponry provided by the US to target Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country's ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials. In the aftermath of the Israeli strikes, the US is shifting its military resources, including ships, in the Middle East as it looks to guard against possible retaliatory attacks by Tehran, according to two US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House. As Israel stepped up planning for strikes in recent weeks, Iran had signalled the United States would be held responsible in the event of an Israeli attack. The warning was issued by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even as he engaged in talks with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Friday's strikes came as Trump planned to dispatch Witkoff to Oman on Sunday for the next round of talks with the Iranian foreign minister. Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but it's unclear if the Iranians will participate, according to US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions. Trump also spoke Friday with British Prime Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron about the evolving situation, as well as Netanyahu. In the early hours on Friday, Israel launched a large-scale military operation against at least 100 targets in Iran, including the Tehran regime's military leadership and strategic sites of the Iranian nuclear programme. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran's nuclear enrichment and nuclear weaponisation facilities, ballistic missile programme sites, as well as individual Iranian nuclear scientists. About a dozen different sites appear to have been targeted, including those in Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, as well as reportedly in Isfahan and Kermanshah. According to the IDF, Israel used 200 fighter jets and around 330 'various munitions' to strike more than 100 targets across the country. Israel and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the strikes at the Natanz nuclear site, around 250km from Tehran. Iran's most significant nuclear enrichment site and its underground centrifuge facilities are protected by heavy concrete walls. Construction work was under way to expand the site. It is unclear how much damage was done during the attack, but video footage posted online appeared to show the aftermath of massive explosions. According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the list of targets in Tehran includes the neighbourhoods of Farahzad, Amir Abad and Andarzgou, the Lavizan district and the Asatid-e Sarv complex. Targets were also hit on the Nobonyad, Langari and Patrice Lulumba streets in Tehran. The Jahan Koudak Tower was also struck. The ISW says unverified images have been circulating on social media showing specific buildings impacted by the airstrikes, suggesting that Israel conducted targeted killings in Tehran. Israeli Army Radio also reported that Israel targeted Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to the supreme leader. Iranian authorities told UN atomic agency chief Rafael Grossi that Israel's strikes had not hit the country's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Bushehr. The Fordow facility is located some 100 km southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but it is smaller than the Natanz facility. Iran is using Fordow to produce most of the near-weapons-grade uranium it has amassed since 2021. The site is reportedly designed to withstand airstrikes as it is protected by anti-aircraft batteries. It is a heavily protected enrichment site built into a mountainside, which sits an estimated 80 metres under rock and soil. Military experts previously said that it would require a weapon like a 'bunker-buster' bomb known as the 'Massive Ordnance Penetrator'. This is the aspect where Israel might need US help and support in providing this type of weapon. Another nuclear facility not targeted by Israel is the one in Isfahan. Located around 350 km southeast of Tehran, Isfahan employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It is also home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. Isfahan is considered Iran's largest nuclear research complex. The Bushehr nuclear power plant on the Persian Gulf, around 750 km south of Tehran, is Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq War. Russia later completed construction of the facility. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the IAEA.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Israel targets Iran's military capabilities
Israel's massive strikes on Iran, which it calls an existential threat, have hit nuclear and military facilities, killed top commanders and dozens of civilians, and sought to destroy the country's defence capabilities. Iran has hit back with volleys of missiles that lit up the night sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, killing three people and wounding dozens. Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region. Israel began striking Iran early Friday in an operation it has dubbed "Rising Lion", and has since killed several top Iranian generals including senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards' air arm. On Saturday, Israel's military said it was striking dozens of missile launchers in Iran after announcing it had targeted air defences with a wave of strikes in the Tehran area. Two senior Iranian generals have been killed in Israeli strikes, Iranian state television reported Saturday, as Israel kept up its assault. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said Friday that 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Israel. Iran called on its citizens to unite in defence of the country as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to rise up against their government. Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Israel through the night, with many residents holed up in bomb shelters until home defence commanders stood down alerts. 'Smoke, dust' Israel said dozens of missiles -- some intercepted -- had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran, with AFP images of the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv showing blown-out buildings, destroyed vehicles and streets strewn with debris. Israeli rescuers said two people were killed and 19 wounded on Saturday by rocket fire on a residential area in the coastal plain. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked dozens of targets in Israel. Israeli firefighters had worked for hours to free people trapped in a high-rise building in Tel Aviv on Friday. Resident Chen Gabizon told AFP he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert. "After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place," he said. Rescuers said 34 people were wounded in the Gush Dan area, including a woman who later died of her injuries, according to Israeli media reports. Speaking to CNN, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Iran had fired three salvos of ballistic missiles on Friday, some 150 in total. "We expect that the Iranians, who have a considerable volume of ballistic missiles, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 2,000, will continue to fire them," Leiter said. In Tehran, fire and heavy smoke billowed over Mehrabad airport early Saturday, an AFP journalist said, as Iranian media reported an explosion. Blasts were heard across the capital as Iran activated its air defences against the incoming fire. Dozens of Iranians took to the streets to cheer their country's military response, with some waving national flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans. 'Time to stop' The attacks prompted several countries in the region to temporarily ground air traffic, though on Saturday morning, Jordan reopened its airspace. Iran's airspace was closed until further notice, state media reported. As fears mounted of wider conflict, UN chief Antonio Guterres called on both sides to cease fire. "Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," he said 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 in a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that "dialogue and diplomacy" were needed to calm the crisis, Starmer's office said. Trump also spoke with the Israeli prime minister, US officials said without elaborating. In a televised address, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Israel "to ruin". The conflict has thrown into doubt plans for a fresh round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Oman on Sunday. 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". The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied. Iran said on Saturday its participation in the Oman talks remained "unclear". "It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday," the official IRNA news agency reported, citing foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Baqaei had called the talks "meaningless" in view of the Israeli strikes, which he alleged were carried out with "US permission".
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Israel launches fresh wave of rockets on Iran on day two of conflict
More than 24 hours after Israel's initial strike on Iranian targets which killed three Iranian military commanders, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims to be continuing airstrikes on targets in Iran on Saturday. "The [Israeli Air Force] continues to strike targets to remove threats in Iran," the IDF posted on Telegram on Saturday morning alongside footage of aerial strikes. The development followed Iran's launch of a wave of retaliatory missile strikes into Israel overnight and into Saturday morning in response to Israel's attacks on its nuclear facilities and missile sites. Retaliatory strikes by Iran have killed three people and injured dozens of others in Israel, while Iran's ambassador to the UN said 78 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Iran. Follow the dramatic escalation of tension in the Middle East live on Euronews as developments unfold.
