Israel launches 'preemptive' strikes on Iran, expects retaliatory action
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps official Sepah News Telegram channel on June 13, 2025 reportedly shows smoke billowing from a site targeted by an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning. — Sepah News / AFP photo
JERUSALEM (June 13): Israel carried out 'preemptive' strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear plant and military sites, after US President Donald Trump warned of a possible 'massive conflict' in the region.
Explosions were heard Friday morning in the Iranian capital, state TV reported, adding that Iran's air defence were at '100 per cent operational capacity'.
Israel declared a state of emergency, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying that retaliatory action from Tehran was possible following the operation.
'Following the State of Israel's preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,' Katz said.
Oil prices surged as much as 6 percent on the strikes, which came after Trump warned of a possible Iranian attack and said the US was drawing down staff in the region.
'I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like it's something that could very well happen,' Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.
Trump said he believed a 'pretty good' deal on Iran's nuclear programme was 'fairly close', but said that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.
The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: 'I don't want them going in, because I think it would blow it.'
Trump quickly added: 'Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.'
A US official said there had been no US involvement in the Israeli strikes on Iran.
— 'Extremist' —
The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.
Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defences last year.
Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.
The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.
Israel again called for global action after the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations.
The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a 'snapback' mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.
Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.
Iran's nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as 'extremist' and blamed Israeli influence.
In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment centre in a secure location.
Iran would also replace 'all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines' at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67-per cent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 per cent needed for a nuclear warhead. — AFP donald trump Israel Katz Mohammad Eslami
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Italy urges Israel, Iran to avoid conflict escalation, return to talks
ROME, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday urged Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran to avoid further conflict escalation and return to negotiations. Tajani's appeal followed a series of Israeli airstrikes overnight targeting multiple sites in Iran, including a nuclear facility, military installations, and senior military officials. In a morning phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Tajani "reiterated the need for an immediate return to negotiations," according to a statement from his office. He also reaffirmed the Italian government's stance that halting Israel's military operations in Gaza is "an absolute priority, given the unacceptable toll being inflicted on the Palestinian civilian population." In a subsequent conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tajani urged Tehran to exercise restraint and avoid military escalation, warning that any further deterioration could threaten the stability of the entire Middle East. "We must urgently return to negotiations and to the path of diplomacy," Tajani said. The Italian minister added that he would remain in close contact with officials from the United States, Oman, and Israel in an effort to "keep diplomatic channels open for the exchange of messages." According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the airstrikes were a "preemptive, precise, and combined" operation targeting dozens of military facilities across Iran, including sites linked to its nuclear program. Iranian authorities condemned the strikes as a "blatant act of aggression." Supreme leader Ali Khamenei described the attack as a crime against Iran and "a declaration of war," vowing that it would be met with severe retaliation.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
U.S. Army parade to be staged in D.C. as "No Kings" rallies planned nationwide
NEW YORK, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of marching soldiers, dozens of helicopters flying overhead, and hundreds of military vehicles, including at least 28 tanks will all parade through the heart of Washington, D.C. for a celebration honoring the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army on Saturday, also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. "It is expected to be the largest military parade in the nation's capital since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991 and will be part of a day-long extravaganza on the National Mall that will include musical performances, parachutists and fireworks," reported The Washington Post on Friday. There also will be street closures, heightened security and protests. According to the Pentagon, about 150 ground vehicles, 6,600 soldiers and 50 aircraft will appear in the parade, grouped to represent each major era of the Army's history. The parade route runs along Constitution Avenue NW, beginning at 23rd Street near the Lincoln Memorial and finishing about a mile down the road, at 15th Street near the Washington Monument. The parade involves thousands of soldiers in historic and modern uniforms, dozens of Army vehicles including Abrams tanks, a flyover and a parachute jump, according to the report. However, also on Saturday, more than 1,600 rallies are planned across all 50 U.S. states as part of the No Kings movement organized by a coalition of organizations calling for a "nationwide day of defiance." There are No Kings events in Virginia and Maryland, but not in D.C.
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Attacking Iran, Israel again calls bluff of 'man of peace' Trump
WHEN US President Donald Trump publicly implored Israel not to attack Iran, he declared, once again, that his goal was to be a peacemaker. Hours later on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – one of Trump's closest international allies – unleashed a major military campaign described as a "preemptive" strike against Iran's nuclear programme. The attack marks the latest setback for Trump's lofty goal set out at the start of his second term of being a "man of peace." Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump has also boasted a warm relationship, has rebuffed his overtures for a ceasefire with Ukraine. And Israel resumed another massive offensive in Gaza after talks bogged down on extending a ceasefire with Hamas reached with Trump's support at the end of his predecessor Joe Biden's term. Trump's friend and roving envoy Steve Witkoff – who has negotiated in all three crises – had been set to meet Iranian officials again Sunday in Oman. Trump later was careful not to distance himself from Israel, where some sources sought to suggest that the public US statements were meant to catch Iran off guard. In successive social media posts, Trump said that Iran had failed to accept his terms and that the attack came one day after a 60-day deadline he had issued, although that did not explain why Witkoff had still scheduled talks with Iran. Trump separately has repeatedly hailed US diplomacy that helped reach a ceasefire last month between India and Pakistan as a triumph, saying he averted nuclear war. Before Israel launched its operation, Trump said: "I don't want them going in, because I think it would blow it." Netanyahu has described Iran's cleric-run government, which backs Hamas, as an existential threat and already last year ordered strikes that knocked out its air defences. "We've clearly seen a fork in the road in the American and Israeli approaches to this problem set," said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official who is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "These strikes are going to disrupt and delay and degrade Iran's nuclear program. The question, I think, is whether or not the United States and Israel in the future are going to work together on what to do to maximise the time that's put back on the clock," she said. Stroul noted that rifts had been building between Israel and Trump, who last month agreed to remove sanctions on Syria after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa swept into power. Trump embraced the new Syrian leader after appeals on a tour of Gulf Arab monarchies – which have also backed diplomacy on Iran. In Qatar last month, Trump said after meeting the emir that he believed a deal was in sight with Iran and that there would be no "nuclear dust" over the region. Despite growing disagreements, Israel enjoys robust support in Trump's right-wing base. The Trump administration in recent days has again taken lonely positions to back Israel, with the United States casting one of the only votes at the UN General Assembly against a Gaza ceasefire resolution and criticising top allies, including Britain, for imposing sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers. Justin Logan, director of defence and foreign policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the Israeli attack will "destroy US diplomatic efforts" on Iran and called for Trump to reject any US military role in protecting Israel from retaliation. "Israel has the right to choose its own foreign policy. At the same time, it has the responsibility to bear the costs of that policy," he said. But lawmakers in Trump's Republican Party quickly rallied behind Israel. Senator Tom Cotton said that the United States should "back Israel to the hilt, all the way," and topple Iran's Islamic Republic if it targets US troops. Trump's Democratic rivals, who mostly backed his diplomacy on Iran, were aghast at Israel's action ahead of new US-Iran talks. "Israel's alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence," said Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Forces Committee.
