Latest news with #TomerNeuberg
Perth Now
a day ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Israel under attack as Iran launches retaliatory strikes
Iran has launched retaliatory air strikes at Israel, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country's two biggest cities, following Israel's biggest-ever military strike against Iran. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv's skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos. The US military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two US officials said on Friday. In the Tel Aviv area, Israel's ambulance service said five people were treated for shrapnel injuries. Live footage of Tel Aviv showed what appeared to be a missile hitting an urban area. Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, June 13, 2025. Credit: Tomer Neuberg / AP A critically injured woman was admitted to Beilinson Hospital in nearby Petah Tikva, a hospital spokesperson said. Iranian state news agency IRNA said Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short. 'A limited number of buildings were affected, some of them as a result of shrapnel from the interception operations,' the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X We can now confirm, IDF has carried out strikes against the nuclear plant in Isfahan ??This is in addition to operations in Natanz.? LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) June 13, 2025 Israel said its strikes were the start of 'Operation Rising Lion'. Paramedics evacuate a wounded woman from a building struck by a missile fired from Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Credit: Tomer Appelbaum / AP Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having started the strikes and initiating a war. US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Iran to halt the bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear program. As evening fell on Friday, Iranian media reported explosions on the northern and southern outskirts of Tehran and at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom, a second nuclear site which had been spared in the first wave of attacks. Air defences were activated across Tehran and explosions could be heard in Isfahan. Israel's military said it was striking Iranian missile and drone launching sites, and had struck another nuclear site in Isfahan. If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli campaign was aimed at defeating an existential threat from Iran, invoking the failure to halt the Holocaust in World War II. Israel's operation 'will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,' he said in a TV address. 'Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.' If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said it was not clear if Iran's nuclear program had survived. He said nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda although he was not sure if they would take place. 'We knew everything,' Trump said of the Israeli attack plans. 'I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out,' Trump said. 'They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late.' Fire and smoke rises from a destroyed building that was hit by a missile fired from Iran, in Tel Aviv. Credit: Tomer Appelbaum / AP Earlier, Trump posted on Truth Social: 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.' Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said military action by itself would not destroy Iran's nuclear program but could 'create the conditions for a long-term deal, led by the United States' to get rid of it. Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia last year. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed. Among the generals killed on Friday were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, swiftly promoted to replace Salami as Guards commander, vowed retaliation in a letter to the Supreme Leader read out on state television: 'The gates of hell will open to the child-killing regime.' Iranians described an atmosphere of fear and anger, with some people rushing to change money and others seeking a way out of the country to safety. Iranian media showed images of destroyed apartment blocks, and said nearly 80 civilians were killed in attacks that targeted nuclear scientists in their beds and wounded more than 300 people. If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Israel said a missile fired from Yemen - whose Houthi militia are one of the last remaining Iranian-aligned groups still able to fire at Israel - had landed in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent said three Palestinian children were wounded by shrapnel there. Israel said that Iran had launched about 100 drones towards Israeli territory on Friday but Iran denied this and there were no reports of drones reaching Israeli targets. The United Nations Security Council was due to meet on Friday at Iran's request. Iran said in a letter to the Council that it would respond decisively and proportionally to Israel's 'unlawful' and 'cowardly' acts. Israeli officials said it may be some time before the extent of damage to the underground nuclear site at Natanz is clear, where Iran has refined uranium to levels some countries have long said are suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. — with AAP
Herald Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- Herald Sun
Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Iran says ‘our revenge has started' as missiles strike major Israeli city
Welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East. The region remains on edge after Israel's surprise attack on targets throughout Iran yesterday. In recent hours, Iran has retaliated with missile strikes of its own, at least some of which broke through Israel's Iron Dome defence system and exploded in the city Tel Aviv. Residents have been told to stay in bomb shelters when instructed to by the authorities. 'Our revenge has just started, they will pay a high price for killing our commanders, scientists and people,' a senior Iranian official told Reuters. 'Nowhere in Israel will be safe,' they said. 'Our revenge will be painful.' The United States has confirmed it is helping Israel by shooting down some Iranian missiles. The Israeli Iron Dome defence system fires to intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv. Picture: Leo Correa/AP An explosion in the city as one missile reached the ground. Picture: Tomer Neuberg/AP Iran is also claiming to have shot down an Israeli fighter jet and captured its pilot. Israel says that is untrue. Defence Minister Israel Katz reacted to Iran's retaliation by saying it had 'crossed red lines by launching missiles towards Israeli civilian areas'. 'Tehran will pay a heavy price,' he said. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech urging Iranian civilians to revolt against their nation's regime, made a similar pledge. 'The regime doesn't know what hit them. They don't know what will hit them,' he said. Read on for the latest updates. Originally published as Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Iran says 'our revenge has started' as missiles strike major Israeli city
American Press
a day ago
- Politics
- American Press
Israel strikes Iran's nuclear sites and kills its top generals. Iran retaliates with missile barrage
An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to attack key facilities and kill top generals and scientists — a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon. Iran retaliated by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel late Friday, with explosions flaring in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shaking buildings below. 'Don't think that they hit and it's over. No. They started the work and started the war,' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message. 'We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.' An Associated Press reporter saw smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. Israeli paramedics reported a handful of injuries in the Tel Aviv area. Israel's ongoing airstrikes and intelligence operation and Iran's retaliation raised fears of all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations had 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 program. But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack — plus the reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump — created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran had been censured by the U.N.'s atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate deescalation from both sides. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday afternoon at Iran's request. In a letter to the council, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the killing of its officials and scientists 'state terrorism' and affirmed his country's right to self-defense. Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not possible to independently confirm the officials' claims. 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 100 kilometers (60 miles) southest of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, too, and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. Israel military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was 'significantly damaged' and that the operation was 'still in the beginning.' The first wave of strikes had given Israel 'significant freedom of movement' in Iran's skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with the media. The official said Israel is prepared for an operation that could last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed. Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making. In a video statement sent to journalists Friday, he said he ordered plans for the attack last November, soon after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, one of Iran's strongest proxies. Netanyahu said the attack was planned for April but was postponed. In its first response Friday, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through. Israel's military said it called up reservists and began stationing troops throughout the country as it braced for further retaliation from Iran or Iranian proxy groups. Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks 'will only get worse.'
