Latest news with #IsraelStrike
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel says it unleashed dozens of warplanes in a bold move to shatter Iran's nuclear program
Israel says it unleashed dozens of warplanes in a bold move to shatter Iran's nuclear program Israel just launched a major preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear program. The Israeli military said dozens of aircraft hit military and nuclear targets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled the operation could go on for days. Israeli warplanes have struck Iran, delivering what officials say is a major assault against Tehran's nuclear and missile programs. The Israeli military launched a large-scale preemptive strike against Iran early Friday in an attempt to crush the country's ability to build a nuclear weapon, officials said. The operation marked a major escalation and is likely to draw a response from Tehran. The Israel Defense Forces said dozens of aircraft recently completed the first wave of strikes, attacking dozens of military targets, including "nuclear targets" in different areas across Iran. ADVERTISEMENT The IDF said the strikes were based on "high-quality intelligence" and intended to damage Iran's nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that the operation, nicknamed "Rising Lion," will continue for "as many days as it takes" to remove what he characterized as an existential threat to his country. Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran early on Friday. AP Photo/Vahid Salemi Netanyahu said Iran has made enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs and has taken unprecedented steps in recent months to weaponize the material and produce a weapon in a short time. He did not provide evidence to support his claim. The Israeli leader said that his forces targeted Iran's nuclear enrichment program, its nuclear weaponization programs, its main enrichment facility of Natanz, its top nuclear scientists, and its ballistic missile program. The extent of the damage is unclear; some of Iran's critical nuclear facilities are buried deep underground, making them particularly challenging targets. ADVERTISEMENT The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, shared footage and photos of damage purportedly caused by the Israeli strikes, including partially damaged buildings and plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods. Business Insider could not independently verify the imagery. Tasnim also reported that Major General Hossein Salami, IRGC commander-in-chief, was killed in an Israeli strike on his headquarters. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the Israeli strikes against Iran. In a statement, he said the Trump administration has taken steps to protect its forces in the Middle East and warned Iran not to retaliate against American assets in the region. A view of a damaged building after Israeli aircraft bombed Iran. ajid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS The strikes are likely to derail ongoing talks between the US and Iran to reach a new nuclear deal and could draw a significant military response from Tehran, which has already launched two major missile attacks on Israel since October 7, 2023, the day a Hamas massacre against Israel sent the region spiraling into war and violence. ADVERTISEMENT The Trump administration and Netanyahu have very different views on how to handle Iran, with the Israeli leader long pressing for military action. The White House, however, has favored the diplomatic route. Israeli officials have long said that they will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Tehran, meanwhile, asserts that its nuclear program is for civilian, not military, purposes. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the IDF spokesperson, said that the country had "no choice" but to attack Iran. Without presenting specific evidence, he said that Tehran's nuclear program is an "imminent and existential threat" that could pose a global threat. Read the original article on Business Insider
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Israel Launches Strike On Iran's Capital
Israel launched a strike against Iran on Thursday, according to multiple outlets, citing Israel's defense minister, who announced a 'special situation' in Israel following the military action. It is unclear what has been targeted in the strike and whether any people were killed as a result, according to the Associated Press, which noted Iran's state television acknowledged blasts in the country's capital. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump warns Israel could strike Iran; U.S. officials say no military support
An Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities 'could well happen,' President Donald Trump said on Thursday as his administration maneuvered to avoid a costly new Middle East conflict that could threaten U.S. military forces in the region. Trump administration officials have informed Israel that the United States will not militarily support potential attacks on Iran in the coming days, according to two knowledgeable U.S. officials who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity. Without such American support, particularly deep-penetrating bombs and refueling for Israeli jets, an Israeli attack is likely to do limited damage to Iran's nuclear sites, some of which are buried deep underground, former officials and analysts say. With tensions again rising in the region, Trump said, 'I would love to avoid a conflict.' But he added, referring to U.S. nuclear talks with Iran that have hit a roadblock over Tehran's insistence on preserving a uranium enrichment capability and Washington's demand that there be none, 'They're going to have to be willing to give us some things that they're not willing to give us right now.' U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Israel could strike Iran at any time, the two U.S. officials said. Trump, at a bill-signing ceremony, said, 'I don't want to say it's imminent but it looks like something that could well happen.' Tehran has threatened to respond to an Israeli attack with counterstrikes targeting both Israel as well as U.S. forces and facilities scattered throughout the Middle East. The U.S. moved on Wednesday to shrink its presence in the region, with the State Department authorizing the evacuation of some personnel in Iraq and the Pentagon green-lighting the departure of military family members across the region. The U.S. is committed to defending Israel, including with assistance in repelling the retaliatory attack that Iran has promised if Israel strikes first. Trump has pinned his hopes of avoiding war on a diplomatic deal with Iran that would limit its nuclear activities in return for easing the harsh economic sanctions squeezing Iran's economy. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to travel to Oman's capital, Muscat, on Sunday for a sixth round of talks with Iran, a person familiar with the matter said. Both Israel and the U.S. say that the only way to ensure Iran will never have a nuclear weapon is to dismantle or destroy its enrichment capabilities. Iran denies it is seeking such a weapon and says it has the right, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to enrich low-grade uranium for civilian purposes. U.S. intelligence agencies continue to assess in recent weeks that Iran is not moving to construct an actual nuclear weapon, one of the U.S. officials said. The prospect of a fresh military confrontation in the Middle East has alarmed MAGA advocates inside and outside of Trump's inner circle, many of whom rallied behind the president due to his anti-war message. 'A direct strike on Iran right now would disastrously split the Trump coalition,' warned MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec on X. 'Trump smartly ran against starting new wars, this is what the swing states voted for - the midterms are not far and Congress' majority is already razor-thin. America First!' But advocates of military intervention, including News Corp. chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch and former Marvel Entertainment chairman Isaac 'Ike' Perlmutter, have tried to push Trump toward backing a strike on Iran in private phone calls with president, said people familiar with the matter. Netanyahu is deeply skeptical the negotiations will halt the nuclear threat from Iran. He has also insisted that any new agreement with Iran eliminate its ballistic missile capabilities and support for regional proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. That is something the United States also seeks, but so far the U.S.-Iran talks have focused only on eliminating its nuclear enrichment program. In exchange, Iran wants all sanctions against it lifted, but the administration has said only those related to the nuclear issue would be affected. Israel has been making extensive preparations for months for a potential strike with Iran, which would include using munitions it has received from the U.S., said two Israelis briefed on the matter. 'Everything is laid out, everything is ready,' said one of the Israelis. 'Unless there's significant progress for some kind of breakthrough on Sunday at the talks in Muscat, I think it's very likely that we're heading toward an Israeli strike,' said Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. There is also a highly unlikely but small chance of Israel launching an unilateral strike before the weekend talks if Israel discovered that Iran was preparing ballistic missiles for a preemptive attack on Israel, Zimmt said. The U.S. officials did not divulge the precise nature of the intelligence that led spy agencies to conclude that Israel could launch a strike at any time. The fallout from an Israeli attack could pose profound dangers to U.S. military forces in the Middle East, including in Iraq, which neighbors Iran. The State Department established a new Middle East task force on Thursday designed to be instrumental in the event of a potential mass evacuation of American personnel from the Middle East should Israel move ahead with a military assault, said two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The creation of the task force is the latest indication that the Trump administration anticipates a potential major military escalation in the region that could threaten Americans. The State Department has established similar task forces for seminal geopolitical events in the past, including following the Taliban's lightning takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, when thousands of U.S. government officials and civilians were airlifted out of the region. Witkoff, the White House envoy, warned Republican senators last week that Iran could respond to an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities with unprecedented force, said a congressional aide familiar with the matter, confirming a report in Axios. The Witkoff warning came in the form of a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho) and others. Witkoff said that the United States is concerned that Iran's ballistic missile capabilities could break through Israel's missile defense systems resulting in significant casualties and damage to Israeli infrastructure, the aide said. Iran has also said that if attacked by Israel it would retaliate against the United States. On Wednesday, amid increasing reports that Israel was preparing to strike, Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh said that 'in case of any conflict, the U.S. must leave the region, because all its bases are within … our range and we will target all of them in the host countries regardless.' Nasirzadeh expressed hope that the negotiations would succeed. 'But if it does not come to an end and a conflict is imposed on us,' he said, 'the casualties of the other party will definitely [be] much heavier than ours.' Former U.S. military and intelligence officials have said that without military support from Washington, Israel could inflict significant, but limited, damage on Iran's nuclear sites, which include the Fordow uranium enrichment plant buried deep underground. Israeli strikes might only set back Iran's program for a period of months, or at most a year, the officials said. Israel is believed to have limited air-to-air refueling capability, compared to the U.S., to support its attack aircraft, which would likely have to overfly Jordan and Iraq to reach Iran. In an attack last October, in retaliation for an Iranian ballistic missile strike on Israel, the Israeli Air Force is believed to have significantly degraded Iran's air defenses and ballistic missile production sites. Israel and its supporters have argued that the strike has opened a finite window to attack Iran's nuclear sites with less risk for Israeli pilots.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israel ‘preparing strike on Iran's nuclear facilities'
Israel is preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities without Donald Trump's backing, according to reports. In what would be a major break with Washington, US intelligence sources said the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear site had 'gone up significantly in recent months'. The sources told CNN that if US negotiations with Iran over ending its nuclear programme do not result in the removal of all Tehran's uranium, an attack could be made more likely. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has long been under pressure to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, especially after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at Israel last October. US officials believe a strike could be imminent, due in part to intercepted Israeli communications and observations of military movements, the official said. This includes the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise. An attack could risk triggering a broader regional conflict in the Middle East, which the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza began. Mr Trump has threatened military action if Iran does not agree to a new nuclear deal. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran began last month. In mid-March, the US president set a 60-day deadline for a deal to be agreed, which has since passed. The US began their first talks with Iran over its nuclear programme 10 years ago last month. Israel also fears that after years of uranium enrichment, Iran could produce enough weapons-grade material to build a simple nuclear bomb within months. The US may decide to help Israel if it hits Iran, one official told CNN, while another said Mr Trump was unlikely to help carry out strikes without provocation. Other officials believe Israel does not have the ability to destroy Iran's nuclear programme without American help, such as providing the bombs needed to penetrate deep underground nuclear facilities. An Israeli source told CNN that Israel would be prepared to carry out military action on its own if the US negotiated a 'bad deal' with Iran that the Jewish state cannot accept, like allowing Iran to continue producing uranium. During recent talks with Tehran, Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy for the Middle East, suggested Tehran must relinquish plans to enrich uranium, which can be used for both a bomb and civilian energy purposes. Mr Witkoff recently told ABC News the US 'cannot allow even 1 per cent of an enrichment capability'. ' We've delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them,' he said. Iran insisted it had a right to enrich uranium under a United Nations treaty on nuclear non-proliferation, and called US efforts to stop it a 'big mistake'.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Israel ‘preparing strike on Iran's nuclear facilities without Trump's backing'
Israel is preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities without Donald Trump's backing, according to reports. In what would be a major break with Washington, intelligence sources told CNN that the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear site 'has gone up significantly in recent months'. US negotiations with Tehran aimed at dismantling the regime's nuclear programme could make a strike more likely if the talks do not lead to the removal of all of Iran's uranium, sources added. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has long been under pressure to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, especially after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at Israel last October. Such a move could risk triggering a broader regional conflict in the Middle East, which the US has sought to avoid since the Gaza war began. Mr Trump has threatened military action if Iran does not agree to a new nuclear deal. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran began last month.
