What we know about Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear sites − and Iran's drone response
Senior Iranian regime officials. Nuclear scientists. The uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and surface-to-air missile systems in Tehran − these were among the targets Israel struck June 13 as part of a wave of attacks on Iran.
Now Iran has launched retaliatory drone strikes on Israel, according to Israel's military, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had begun an operation aimed at rolling back Iran's "threat to Israel's very survival."
The Israel Defense Forces said Iran launched more than 100 UAVs toward Israel and was working to intercept them. Iran has not confirmed its counter-attack, but it follows what Israel called a "preemptive strike" on Iran's nuclear program and other military targets, including senior officials such as Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israel attacks Iran: See strike map, video, satellite images
Netanyahu said Israel's offensive will last "as many days as it takes."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed several of his nation's senior military commanders and nuclear scientists were killed in Israel's attacks, which struck parts of Iran's capital Tehran. Khamenei warned Israel had "prepared a bitter fate for itself."
President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal "before there is nothing left," saying on his Truth Social platform that Israel had access to the U.S.'s "lethal military equipment."
Here's what you need to know about Israel's attacks on Iran − and what might happen next.
Iran's rulers have been pledging to destroy Israel ever since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Netanyahu has long argued that Iran can't be trusted and that Israel would eventually need to attack Iran's nuclear sites to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Although Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes only, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, recently concluded that Iran was very close to reaching the 90% uranium enrichment level required to build a nuclear weapon.
Iran has also for years militarily and financially supported regional militia groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza, that have pressured or attacked Israel on multiple fronts.
They support Palestinians in Gaza: What do Yemen's Houthi rebels really want?
The Israel Defense Forces said more than 200 fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Iran, including what it called the "hideouts" of senior operatives in Iran's military leadership. In addition to IRGC chief Salami, the attack killed Iran's highest-ranking military officer, Mohammad Bagheri, and Gholamali Rashid, its armed forces' deputy commander. Iranian state media said at least six people had been killed and 20 wounded.
Iranian state TV images and footage showed apartment buildings and cars on fire in Tehran. The IDF said it successfully "damaged" an underground area of Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, a district in central Iran, that contained a "multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms and additional supporting infrastructure."
The IAEA confirmed that at least one strike hit the Natanz nuclear site. The nuclear watchdog said in a statement that it has so far found "no elevated radiation levels" at the facility.
Israeli media reported that Iran's drones were being intercepted over Jordan and elsewhere. There were no immediate reports of damage in Israel and, while schools and gatherings were cancelled and Israelis told to stay near bomb shelters, the country's Home Front Command lifted an order to seek shelter.
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In his statement announcing the attack, Netanyahu thanked Trump for "his leadership in confronting Iran's nuclear weapons program. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the attack in a statement. He also made it clear that American forces "are not involved in strikes against Iran."
In fact, Trump told reporters at an event this week that he did not want Israel to strike Iran while a nuclear deal was still on the table. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had been scheduled to meet with Israeli officials before participating in a sixth round of nuclear talks with the Iranians in Oman over this weekend.
Those talks now seem in doubt.
"These developments eventually could prompt Iran to try to rush for a bomb," wrote Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Atlantic Council think tank's Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, in a blog post.
Trump will attend a National Security Council meeting later June 13.
Multiple Arab countries issued statements of condemnation. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry described Israel's attack as "heinous" and said the international community bears "a great responsibility to halt this aggression." Oman, which has been hosting the nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, said it was a "reckless" attack.
In Europe, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, critical of Israel in recent weeks because of the war in Gaza, said Israel has a right to "defend its existence." Merz increased protections for Jewish institutions in Germany.
Oil prices surged, fearing a potential supply disruption. Stock markets in Asia and Europe trade lower. Wall Street stock futures also traded lower ahead of the market open.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites. Iran strikes back. What now?
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that a 10pc rise in oil prices adds 0.4 percentage points to global inflation and drag down growth by 0.15pc. Consumers will start noticing price rises in the coming days and weeks as they fill up their cars. Oxley, at Capital Economics, estimates that every $10 increase in oil adds 7p at the petrol pump, taking money out of people's pockets. There are also implications for the cost of borrowing. While policymakers at the Bank of England tend to look through one-off price spikes, the prospect of higher-for-longer inflation will be hard to ignore. Traders slightly reduced their bets of two more rate cuts this year to 3.75pc as news of the killing of Bagheri broke. But some fear that the impact of higher oil prices could even force Threadneedle Street to reverse course. Gervais Williams, of Premier Miton, an investment manager, told the BBC: 'It is likely that interest rate cuts will be less, or possibly even interest rate rises to come.' He warns that 'a lot of economic uncertainty ... will lead to a government shortfall, unfortunately, versus their spending review recently. I think that will lead to potentially ... additional UK tax rises later this year'. The combination of weak growth and higher borrowing costs is toxic for the public finances. Analysis cited by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) of 20 years of data from 1984 suggests that a 10pc rise in oil price reduces UK output by around 0.5pc, although the UK is now far less reliant on oil and gas than it was in the past as the economy pivots towards services. In 2010, the OBR said a permanent 20pc rise in the real oil price would reduce GDP by around half a percent. Lower growth means less money to fund the spending boost for the NHS that Reeves lauded this week. Higher oil prices also makes it more likely that she will have to maintain fuel duty cuts for another year at a cost of £3bn. She has to fund that by cutting spending or taxing something else. JP Morgan and Capital Economics both believe that higher borrowing costs and a weaker economy will force Reeves to raise taxes by more than £20bn in the autumn. Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Liberum, argues that there may be a silver lining for a Chancellor looking for political cover for another tax raid. 'A sustained rise in oil prices will raise inflation in the second half of the year making it harder for the Bank of England to cut rates,' says French. 'But for the Treasury the challenges are more nuanced. Any hit to growth will make the fiscal challenges more acute, albeit politically it becomes easier to blame external conditions for tough fiscal choices in the autumn.' Of course, there are factors pulling in the opposite direction, including a decision by Opec in March to pump more than 2m barrels of oil back into the market over the next 18 months. Oxley at Capital Economics says this should provide some relief, with faster supply increases in May and June suggesting 'more supply is likely to be forthcoming' in the coming months. However, he warns the outlook remains bleak. 'To the extent to which oil prices remain elevated, this adds to inflationary pressures and headwinds for the economy,' adds Oxley. 'That's the last thing Reeves wants. She was hoping that growth could help the fiscal situation look better. But any volatility or uncertainty will be the opposite of that. 'But at least she is by no means alone. The world depends on oil. So this isn't necessarily just a problem for Rachel Reeves.' That is likely to offer little comfort for a Chancellor already under fire for her political choices, or the households who will bear the brunt of what looks like another inevitable tax raid. 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