Israel launched a massive assault on the core of Iran’s nuclear and military structure on Friday, using warplanes and drones smuggled into the country to hit key sites and kill top generals and scientists.
According to him, the shelling was necessary until the enemy came close to creating nuclear weapons.
The operation increased the likelihood of a full-scale war between the countries and plunged a region already on the brink into further turmoil.
Iran responded quickly by sending a swarm of drones towards Israel after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of “severe punishment”.
A day earlier, Iran was criticized by the UN’s nuclear watchdog for failing to meet commitments to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
Israel has long threatened such a strike, and successive U.S. administrations have tried to prevent it, fearing it would provoke a wider conflict across the Middle East and might be ineffective in destroying Iran’s diffuse and entrenched nuclear program.
However, the confluence of circumstances caused by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the election of US President Donald Trump created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally carry out its threats.
Also on Friday, Israel said it had struck an Iranian nuclear facility in Isfahan.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Thousands of nuclear scientists work at the site in Isfahan, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran.
It is also home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories related to the country’s nuclear program.
Israel has informed the Trump administration of plans for large-scale attacks, according to US and Israeli officials.
On Wednesday, the United States recalled some American diplomats from the Iraqi capital and offered voluntary evacuation to the families of American service members in the Middle East.
The United States is moving military assets, including ships, to the Middle East in response to Israeli strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two U.S. officials said.
Countries in the region condemned the Israeli attack, while leaders around the world called for immediate de-escalation on both sides. Iran has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
The Israeli military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets.
The Mossad spy agency had pre-positioned explosive drones and precision weapons in Iran and used them to target Iranian air defense systems and missile launchers near Tehran, two security officials said.
Among the key sites attacked by Israel was Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke billowed into the air.
A second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow, about 60 miles from Tehran, was also apparently hit, according to an Iranian news agency close to the government, which reported explosions heard nearby.
Israel also said it had destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.
Israeli military spokeswoman Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was “significantly damaged” and that the operation was “still in its early stages.”
Among those killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders: General Mohammad Bagheri, who commanded all armed forces; General Hossein Salami, who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard; and the head of the Guards’ ballistic missile program, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Iran has confirmed all three deaths, a major blow to its ruling theocracy that will complicate efforts to respond. Khamenei said other senior military officials and academics were also killed.
In its initial response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were intercepted outside its airspace and it was unclear whether any had gotten through.
Mr Trump called on Iran to reach a deal with Washington over its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israeli attacks “will only get worse”.
“Iran must make a deal before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” he wrote. “No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”
Israeli leaders viewed the attack as necessary to prevent Iran from developing an imminent nuclear bomb, although it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that goal or whether Iran actually planned to launch a strike.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
“This is a clear and present threat to the very survival of Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, vowing to continue attacks as long as it takes to “eliminate this threat.”
Israel is widely believed to be the only state in the Middle East that possesses nuclear weapons, but it has never admitted having such weapons.
Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere on Friday to buy bottled water and other goods. But otherwise, streets and parks were largely deserted.
Mr Netanyahu said the operation was a distraction from Israel’s ongoing and increasingly destructive war in the Gaza Strip, which has now lasted more than 20 months.
Khamenei said in a statement that Israel “has opened its evil and bloody hand to commit crime in our beloved country, showing its evil nature more than ever by targeting residential centers.”
Mr Netanyahu expressed hope that the attacks would lead to the fall of the theocracy in Iran, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not against them but against “the brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years”.
“I believe the day of your liberation is near,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel had taken “unilateral action against Iran” and that he believed the strikes were necessary for self-defense.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie