Israel launches major attack on Iran
ISRAEL ATTACKED IRAN'S capital Tehran early this morning in strikes which targeted the country's nuclear programme.
Iran in turn has launched about 100 drones towards Israel.
Israel's military said it is working to intercept the drones launched from Iran.
It appears to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq, with multiple sites around the country hit.
The Journal
/ YouTube
The leader of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed, Iranian state television reported. Another top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead.
The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri, was also confirmed dead by Iranian state television.
Israeli leaders said the attack was necessary to head off what they described as an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs and they warned of a reprisal which could target civilians in Israel.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned 'severe punishment' would be directed at Israel.
In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, he said Israel had 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres'.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News he had advance notice of the Israeli strikes which Israel's military said involved 200 fighter jets. Trump also stressed that Tehran 'cannot have a nuclear bomb'.
The United States underlined that it was not involved in the Israeli action and warned Tehran not to attack its personnel or interests.
Multiple sites in the capital were hit in the attack, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said targeted both nuclear and military sites. Also targeted were officials leading Iran's nuclear programme and its ballistic missile arsenal.
The assault came amid warnings from Israel that it would not permit Tehran to build a nuclear weapon, although it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that.
A statement from IDF Spokesperson BG Effie Defrin on the preemptive Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear targets
pic.twitter.com/IJNT5LXz6o
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF)
June 13, 2025
Advertisement
Netanyahu said in an address on YouTube that the attacks will continue 'for as many days at it takes to remove this threat'.
'It could be a year. It could be within a few months,' he said as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to 'remove this threat'.
'This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival.'
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed an Israeli strike hit Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and said it was closely monitoring radiation levels.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60%, though still short of the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead.
The attack followed increasing tensions that led the US to pull some diplomats from Iraq's capital and to offer voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that Israel advised the US that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.
'We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' Rubio said in a statement released by the White House that warned Iran against targeting US interests or personnel.
The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
The board of governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency censured Iran on Thursday for the first time in 20 years over its refusal to work with its inspectors.
Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more-advanced ones.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country carried out the attack, without saying what it targeted.
'In the wake of the state of Israel's preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately,' he said in a statement.
The statement added that Katz 'signed a special order declaring an emergency situation in the home front'.
'It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,' it said
Both Iran and Israel closed their airspace.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Benjamin Netanyahu's big gamble risks Iran building nuclear bomb more quickly
©Washington Post Today at 21:30 There are three immediate questions to answer about the war that Israel has started with Iran, all of which lead to the most important of all: Can this achieve Israel's stated goal of ensuring, once and for all, that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon? If it can, then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to launch Israeli jets against a much larger nation of close to 90 million people would, depending on the nature of the targets struck and level of civilian casualties, be justified on both strategic and moral grounds.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Richard Curran: As the billions flow into defence, are we slowly being conditioned for war?
There is a growing feeling of a big war coming. As Israel rains missiles on Iran's nuclear facilities and Irish citizens are warned not to travel to Israel because of likely escalation on the Iranian side, the uncertainty and instability of the last three years feels heightened.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
The Irish Independent's View: Israeli strikes on Iran spawn another dark chapter for war-torn Middle East
A full-scale attack on Tehran, which is committed to the destruction of the state of Israel, is the last thing the war-weary region wanted, except perhaps in Tel Aviv. Many already felt Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was playing with fire beside a powder keg. This latest twist can only add nitroglycerin into the mix, drawing ever nearer to a dreaded wider conflagration. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed a 'crushing response' to what was a devastating blow, not just to Iran's nuclear capabilities, but to its military elite in the Revolutionary Guard. The 200 Israeli warplane blitz was 'just the beginning', with an Israeli official claiming strikes could continue for weeks. The attack puts the finish to whatever chance there was of US president Donald Trump's bid to end the Iranian nuclear stand-off diplomatically. Military analysts believe all bets are now off in terms of containing the situation. President Trump has told Iran there 'could be nothing left' if agreement is not reached, but Tehran, and the country's 90 million people, may be in no mood to heed calls for moderation. The strike followed an International Atomic Energy Agency declaration that Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations. There are no limits left. The hand of divine vengeance will grip the brutal terrorist regime and its supporters Ayatollah Khamenei has warned Israel of 'severe punishment'. What that looks like remains to be seen. But there is no question that Mr Netanyahu has plunged his country – along with the US, its staunchest ally – into a dangerous new sphere of conflict. ADVERTISEMENT The attack also threatens to draw other Gulf states into a military quagmire. One of Mr Trump's many bold pledges on taking office was to bring peace to the Middle East. Critics say his indulgence, or apparent indifference towards Mr Netanyahu's excesses, emboldened the Israeli prime minister to go to new extremes. Either way, most would agree Mr Netanyahu has now gone for broke in attacking Iran. Whether his aim is to overthrow the theocratic regime, or to blunt its nuclear capability, is unclear. But neither could be achieved in a single raid, however effective. He will need US support if he is to fight the war he has started. He has created a make-or-break moment, not just for Israel, but for Mr Trump and his commitment to the American people to avoid US troops getting sucked into foreign wars. Responding to the raid, Ali Larijani – an aide to Iran's supreme leader – said: 'There are no limits left. The hand of divine vengeance will grip the brutal terrorist regime and its supporters.' Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said it was 'crucial' Nato allies work to de-escalate the situation. However, the fear is that Mr Netanyahu's actions have already opened another dark front, bringing more suffering and bloodshed to a region replete with both.
