Iran fires rocket barrage on Israel as Tehran reels from major attack
Israel's attacks targeted Tehran's nuclear programme, killing Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami, Chief of Staff Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, and Emergency Forces Commander Gholam Rashid and other military officials, as well as at least six top nuclear scientists.
In response, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Iran had launched "approximately 100 UAVs towards Israeli territory," which were successfully neutralised.
Meanwhile, Israeli jets have struck multiple targets in the Iranian cities of Tabriz and Shiraz midday on Friday, according to Iran's state-run media.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran was given a 60-day ultimatum to reach a nuclear agreement before Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian territory.
The Trump administration has insisted that Washington was not involved in Israel's military operation.
Review how Friday unfolded as Euronews reporters from the region and around the world brought updates and reactions from the dramatic events in the Middle East.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Hezbollah refuses to hand over its weapons to Lebanese government
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem threatened open confrontation on Friday if Lebanon's government proceeds with plans to disarm the militant group, calling the cabinet decision an implementation of "US-Israeli orders." The Lebanese Council of Ministers approved a decision last week requiring the army to urgently develop a disarmament plan and implement it before year-end, marking the most severe challenge to Hezbollah since the civil war ended in 1990. "The decision is dangerous and exposes the country to a major crisis," Qassem said during a televised speech in Baalbek. "It strips the resistance and Lebanon of defensive weapons during aggression." Qassem vowed Hezbollah would not surrender its weapons and warned of armed conflict, if not outright war. "The party will fight a (historic) battle if necessary in the face of this Israeli-US project, whatever the cost," he said. "There will be no life in Lebanon if the government tries to confront the party." The Hezbollah secretary-general laid the blame on the government in Beirut, saying it "bears full responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon." Qassem rejected the idea of protests at this time "because there is room for dialogue with the government," but warned demonstrations could escalate if deemed necessary. "This is our land together, our homeland together, we live together, or there is no life for Lebanon," he said in a direct warning to authorities. Qassem also thanked Iran for supporting Hezbollah "with money, weapons, capabilities, and media and political positions." The Tehran-backed militant group remains the only faction that retained its military arsenal after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. However, it has been significantly weakened as a consequence of its most recent conflict with Israel. Hezbollah first struck Israel in October 2023 after the breakout of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, leading to Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon and Beirut's suburbs and a limited ground incursion. The fighting intensified last September after Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members and killing Qassem's predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024, mediated by the US and France.
AFP
6 hours ago
- AFP
Video of crowds cheering on Israel's soldiers is AI-generated
"Israeli soldiers are marching from their country to complete the military occupation of Gaza, while Israeli citizens are welcoming, praising, and supporting them," reads the Burmese-language caption of a Facebook video shared on August 12, 2025. The eight-second clip, which was viewed more than 65,000 times, appears to show crowds waving Israeli flags and cheering on soldiers and military vehicles. Image Screenshot of false Facebook post captured on August 14, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The video was on Facebook, after Israel announced a new plan for its military to "take control" of Gaza City, triggering a wave of criticism from both inside and outside the country (archived link). More than 22 months into the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the country is gripped by a yawning divide pitting those demanding an end to the conflict and a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see the Palestinian militants vanquished once and for all. Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Out of 251 hostages captured during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,722 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable. The video, however, was generated by AI. Made with Veo A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same clip posted on TikTok on July 31, where its Indonesian-language reads: "Hundreds of Israeli military are ready to take revenge against Iranian attack." But the search engine's "About this image" feature indicates the video was generated with Google AI. A Google spokesperson told AFP that when a SynthID watermark is detected, it indicates that "the image has been generated or modified with AI". SynthID is an image identification tool launched in 2023 by Google's DeepMind AI lab, which detects digital watermarks contained in images generated with Google AI (archived here and here). Both videos are also superimposed with the same watermarks -- the name of the TikTok account across the middle of the video, and the word "Veo" in the bottom-right corner. Veo is Google's video-generation platform, which allows users to create eight-second clips (archived link). Image Screenshots showing the video flagged as being made by Google AI (left) and the Veo watermark (right) An analysis of the video also shows it contains visual anomalies indicative of AI-generated content, including blurred and distorted faces and misshapen limbs. Despite the rapid progress of generative AI, errors such as these are often the clearest sign of fabricated videos of images. Image Screenshots from the falsely shared video with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP AFP has previously debunked other misleading claims about the war in Gaza that relied on AI-generated content.
LeMonde
15 hours ago
- LeMonde
In Israel, the far right seeks to approve a settlement project that would split the West Bank in two
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the nationalist and religious far right, made no secret of his satisfaction − or his intentions − as he announced on Thursday, August 14, the approval of a strategic Jewish settlement project East of Jerusalem, in the West Bank. The project, he claims, will "bury the idea of a Palestinian state." The territory has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967. The consequences of this announcement, if carried out, would be dramatic: With this settlement of 3,000 housing units, known by the code name E1 and located in the city of Ma'ale Adumim, the already fragmented West Bank would be split in two, making the creation of a viable Palestinian state almost impossible. "These are illegal decisions and proposals and we hope that the world community will never allow Israel to force its laws on the Palestinian land," responded the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli NGO Peace Now condemned the plan, calling it "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution." The announcement sparked outrage among Arab countries.
