ISRAELI military says it launched a wave of strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites in a major escalation against Tehran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” following the “crime” of attacking Iran and killing several commanders and top scientists.
In a prerecorded video message posted early Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at hurting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories.
“This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat of annihilation against us,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, said Iran’s nuclear programme had reached a “point of no return”, and Israel could not “wait for another moment to act” in the “fight to preserve our existence”.
An unnamed Israeli military official has told reporters that fighter jets have carried out five waves of attacks, featuring hundreds of strikes in total. Israeli strikes have been confirmed in at least eight locations across Iran, including the capital Tehran, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site in Natanz, and a nuclear research centre in Tabriz.
Iranian state media has reported several casualties, with civilians and senior Iranian officials among the dead. Confirmed killed are Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, and nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi.
In a statement following the attacks, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Israel to prepare for a “bitter and painful fate”.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran has a “legal and legitimate” right to respond, as it vowed to involve the US as Israel’s strikes could not have taken place without its “coordination and authorisation”.
In a statement early on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the attacks as “preemptive” and said Israel was preparing for Iran’s response.
“A missile and UAV [drone] attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate timeframe,” Katz said.
Sirens have sounded across Israel as a warning to people, while the Israeli military announced in a post on X that Israel’s civil and public security guidelines had been changed to “essential activity” as of 3am local time (00:00 GMT).
“The guidelines include: a ban on educational activities, gatherings, and workplaces, except for essential businesses,” it said.
Israel’s Ministry of Transportation has confirmed that it has also closed the country’s airspace for arrivals and departures until further notice.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed late on Thursday that the US was not involved in the strikes, as he urged Iran not to target American interests or personnel in the region.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel,” he added.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington, DC, Alan Fisher, said developments over recent days indicated that US President Donald Trump “was told that there was going to be some sort of strike”.
“[Just] 24 hours ago, the United States announced that it was going to start moving nonessential personnel out of the embassy in Baghdad [in Iraq], and also recommended that others in embassies around the region could also leave if they wish,” he said.
Fisher said President Trump did not “want Iran to get a nuclear weapon”, but he was “hoping” that nuclear talks would be able to avert a conflict.
“The big question now, of course, is how the United States reacts to any response from Iran. If they side with Israel, that suggests that the nuclear talks are done,” Fisher said.
“[US Special Envoy to the Middle East] Steve Witkoff still intends to hold another meeting with the Iranians at the weekend. Of course, it’ll be up to the Iranians to decide whether or not they want to go,” he added.
Iran’s Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday that his country would target US military bases in the region if nuclear talks break down and the US launches attacks.
“Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don’t come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us … all US bases are within our reach, and we will boldly target them in host countries,” Nasirzadeh told reporters.
Washington and Tehran have held five rounds of nuclear talks since April as Trump seeks a deal that would place constraints on Iran’s uranium enrichment.