ISRAEL LAUNCHES ‘MAJOR STRIKE’ ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR, MILITARY SITES
Israel carries out strikes targeting Iranian nuclear, military sites
Senior military officials and nuclear scientists have been killed in the attacks, according to Iranian state media.
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 confirmed to The Times of Israel newspaper it had “launched an aerial campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme” in an operation dubbed “Nation of Lions”.
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.
People gather near damaged vehicles in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters
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”.
Israel launches major strike on Iran
Israeli military says it launched a wave of strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites in a major escalation against Tehran. Local media has reported attacks in these locations:
Israel attacks Iran: What we know so far
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned that Israel faces a ‘bitter and painful’ fate following the attack.
“By God’s will, the powerful hand of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will not let it [Israel] go unpunished,” he said.
