Israel bombarded by Iranian missiles after strikes on Tehran's nuclear bases
Calls from Sir Keir Starmer and other world leaders for calm amid the mounting conflict appeared to fall on deaf ears, as Tehran struck back against Israel's attacks.
Air raid sirens sounded out across Israel and its citizens were ordered to move into bomb shelters, as the attack began.
A plume of smoke could be seen rising from central Tel Aviv amid the barrage, after at least one Iranian missile appeared to bypass the iron dome missile defence system.
Smoke rises after a missile attack in Tel Aviv on Friday (Leo Correa/AP)
The rocket attacks on the Tel Aviv area wounded 34 people, according to Israel's paramedic service, including one woman critically injured after being trapped under rubble.
Operation Rising Lion – the offensive against Tehran – has mainly targeted nuclear sites, including destroying the above ground section of Iran's main Natanz nuclear base.
Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was among the senior Iranian figures reportedly killed in Israel's initial overnight strikes.
Some 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in Iran, according to its ambassador to the UN.
The attack is believed to be the most significant Iran has faced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 'more is on the way' in a video message released on Friday night.
امشب، می‌خواهم با شما، مردم محترم ایران، صحبت کنم.
ما در میانه یکی از بزرگ‌ترین عملیات‌های نظامی در تاریخ، هستیم – عملیات طلوع شیران.رژیم اسلامی که تقریباً ۵۰ سال شما را سرکوب کرده، تهدید به نابودی کشور ما- اسرائیل می‌کند.
هدف عملیات اسرائیل جلوگیری از تهدید هسته‌ای و موشکی… pic.twitter.com/sS5cXgJExi
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) June 13, 2025
Danny Dannon, Israel's UN ambassador, claimed the operation was launched because Iran was 'within days' of having the capability of building nuclear weapons.
Tensions between Israel, the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks, amid negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons.
On Friday, Israel's western allies attempted a diplomatic blitz aimed at cooling temperatures in the Middle East.
After convening a Cobra meeting of senior ministers and officials, Sir Keir spoke to Mr Netanyahu, urging him to de-escalate and work towards a 'diplomatic resolution'.
The Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump agreed the burgeoning conflict needed to be resolved by 'diplomacy and dialogue'.
And Sir Keir joined with France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz in calling for restraint.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, spoke to Iran's foreign minister and urged calm, later warning the Middle East is facing a 'moment of grave peril'.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spent Friday speaking to world leaders about the situation in the Middle East (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
Mr Trump has also suggested that Iran now had a chance to agree a nuclear deal to bring an end to the fighting.
On his Truth Social platform, the President wrote: 'Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to 'make a deal'. They should have done it!
'Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!'
Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that Israel acted unilaterally.
The first time Israel discussed the strikes with the UK was at midday on Friday, according to Tzipi Hotovely, the country's ambassador to the UK.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
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STV News
an hour ago
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Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Israel warns ‘Tehran will burn' if Iran continues firing missiles
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Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two more people and wounding 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. Meanwhile, the sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. A video posted on X showed a column of smoke and flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. The Israeli military said it carried out overnight strikes on dozens of targets including air defences 'in the area of Tehran'. Israel's paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. US ground-based air defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official. The latest strikes raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region into even greater upheaval. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme. But developments triggered by Hamas's October 7 2023 attack — plus the re-election of US President Donald Trump — created conditions that allowed Israel to follow through on its threats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran was censured by the UN's atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Middle East, a key global aviation route, but Jordan's state-run Petra news agent said the country was reopening its air space to civilian aircraft on Saturday morning, signalling it believes there is no immediate danger. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles south east of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan and destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility had been destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged the infrastructure there, he said. Mr Netanyahu said the attack was months in the making and had been planned for April before being postponed. Israel's Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials. Among those killed were five of Iran's military leaders: General Mohammad Bagheri, who oversaw the entire armed forces; General Hossein Salami, who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard; General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme; General Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy of intelligence for the armed forces' general staff; and General Mehdi Rabbani, the deputy of operations.
