Summary
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Israel has launched an attack on Iran aimed at “dozens” of targets, including its nuclear facilities.
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Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attack, dubbed Rising Lion, would take “many days” and was aimed at “rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival”. He suggested the operation could be long and difficult, saying “Israeli citizens may have to remain in sheltered areas for lengthy periods of time.”
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Netanyahu said one target was the Natanz nuclear facility, a key site for uranium enrichment.
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An Israeli military spokesperson told Reuters that 100 drones were heading toward Israel and efforts to shoot them down were underway. “We are in for a rough few hours,” the spokesperson said. The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, announced a “special situation” in Israel after the country launched the strikes and said Israel expected retaliation.
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Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert.
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Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami has been killed in the strikes and the unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. The Revolutionary Guards said Israel will pay a heavy price for its attack. Israeli strikes also killed Gen, Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, according to Iranian state TV reports.
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Iran’s Press TV reports there have been a number of fatalities from Israel’s attacks. State TV says five people were killed in Tehran with many more across the country wounded.
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State TV is reporting that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed.
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Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Israel will receive a harsh punishment after its attack on Iran early on Friday. He confirmed that several commanders and scientists were killed in the attacks – and warned that Israel had “prepared a bitter fate for itself.”
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Iran’s foreign ministry said the US – as Israel’s main supporter – will be held responsible for the consequences of “Israel’s adventurism.” In a statement, the ministry said the Israeli attack “exposes global security to unprecedented threat” and calls on the international community to condemn it.
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Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations has said Israel has an ongoing dialogue with the United States but its determination to strike Iran was an independent Israeli decision.
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Donald Trump has said that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and that the United States was hoping to get back to the negotiating table, in an interview with a Fox News following the start of Israeli airstrikes on Iran. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin quoted Trump as saying in a post on X.
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Trump will attend a national security council meeting on Friday morning, in the wake of the strikes. The meeting will be held at 11am (1500 GMT) on Friday, the White House said.
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Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the strikes. “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. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence.”
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The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Friday that Israeli strikes were targeting an Iranian uranium enrichment site, saying it was “closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation”.
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Oil prices jumped more than 7% on Friday, hitting their highest in months after Israel said it struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies.
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World leaders have voiced concern over the strikes. New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said that the Israeli airstrikes on Iran was a “really unwelcome development”. Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the government was “alarmed”.
Key events
IAEA chief urges all parties to show restraint after Israeli attacks on Iran and says nuclear facilities ‘must never be attacked’
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi on Friday called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation in response to Israeli attacks on Iran overnight. Grossi also said on Friday that nuclear facilities “must never be attacked”.
“This development is deeply concerning … I reiterate that any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond,” Grossi said in a statement to board members, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Earlier, Iran sharply criticised the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing it of “silence” over Israel’s strikes on its nuclear facilities and scientists.
In a statement, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said it considered the “silence” from the IAEA “as a form of cooperation with the Zionist regime,” adding that the Israeli attack was a “defeat for the IAEA resulting from its unjustifiable shortcomings”.
France’s foreign minister on Friday urged restraint after Israel pounded Iran in a series of air raids, striking 100 targets including nuclear and military sites as well as killing the armed forces’ chief of staff.
“We call on all sides to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation that could undermine regional stability,” Jean-Noël Barrot said on X.
Iran has gradually broken away from its commitments under the nuclear deal it struck with world powers including the United States and France in 2015.
The landmark deal provided Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic programme, but it fell apart after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States during US president Donald Trump’s first term in 2018.
Turkey urges Israel to halt ‘aggressive actions’ after Iran strikes
Turkey on Friday urged Israel to stop “aggressive actions” after a wave of strikes on Iran that comes at a time of negotiations over the Islamic republic’s disputed nuclear programme.
“Israel must put an immediate end to its aggressive actions that could lead to further conflicts,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Sam Jones
Spain’s leftwing deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, has called for an “urgent de-escalation” after the Israeli strikes on Iran.
“From the genocide in Gaza to the bombing of Iran: Netanyahu is dragging the world towards an escalation of war,” she wrote on Bluesky on Friday morning.
Díaz added:
We call for an urgent de-escalation, for the respect for international law, for immediate sanctions against the Israeli regime and for a multilateral route toward a just and lasting peace for all people.
Defence minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would “eliminate” its foes after it carried out airstrikes on Iran targeting military and nuclear sites, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The precise targeting of senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian military, and nuclear scientists – all of whom were involved in advancing the plan to destroy Israel – sends a strong and clear message: those who work toward Israel’s destruction will be eliminated,” Katz said in a statement.
He further warned that Iran “will pay an increasingly heavy price the longer it continues its aggressive actions” against Israel.
In an earlier statement, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “must await a severe punishment”, adding:
By God’s will, the powerful hand of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic will not let it [Israel] go unpunished.
In the enemy’s attacks, several commanders and scientists were martyred. Their successors and colleagues will immediately carry on their duties, God willing.
With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself – and it will undoubtedly receive it.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed German chancellor Friedrich Merz about Israel’s attack on Iran in a phone call on Friday morning, Merz said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The statement said that Israel has a right to defend itself and Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, but Merz called on both sides to refrain from escalation.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel had given Germany a warning of the attack on Iran before it happened, as the Spiegel magazine reported on Friday.
Nato chief Rutte says it is ‘crucial’ to de-escalate after Israel strikes on Iran
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte on Friday said it was “crucial” for allies of Israel to work to de-escalate tensions, after Israel struck 100 targets in Iran, including Tehran’s nuclear and military sites.
“I think it is now crucial for many allies, including the United States, to work, as we speak, to de-escalate. I know that they are doing that and I think that is now the first order of the day,” Rutte told journalists at a press conference in Stockholm, noting it was a “unilateral” action by Israel, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Israeli Mossad commandos led a series of covert operations deep inside Iran leading up to Israel’s strikes on Friday, an Israeli security source told Reuters.
Those operations included deploying precision-guided weapons in open areas near Iranian surface-to-air missile systems sites, advanced technology used against Iran’s air defence systems and the establishment of an attack-drone base near Teheran, the security source said.
The Guardian has been unable to independently verify the report.
Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia said on Friday they were moving their planes out of the country, hours after Israel launched widespread strikes against Iran and braced for retaliation.
The planes were flown without passengers, said a spokesperson for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, which on Friday closed until further notice, reports Reuters.
Israir said it was evacuating and relocating its aircraft from the airport, adding this was part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days.
El Al said it was moving aircraft out of Israel “to our destinations” and Arkia declined to say where they were moving, added the news agency.
According to Reuters, flight tracking data showed a number of planes leaving Tel Aviv on Friday morning local time.
A number of Israir flights went to Cyprus and several El Al aircraft were flown to airports in Europe, Flightradar24 data showed.
Separately, an AJet source told Reuters that the airline had cancelled flights to Iran, Iraq and Jordan until Monday morning.
The source said that AJet, a Turkish Airlines subsidiary, will operate flights to Lebanon only during daylight hours. It plans to operate flights to elsewhere in the Middle East including flying over Iraq without using the affected airspace, the source added.
Qatar Airways cancels flights to Iran and Iraq after Israel strikes
Qatar Airways said on Friday it had cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq after a wave of strikes by Israel on the Islamic republic.
“Qatar Airways has temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to [the] current situation in the region,” the airline said in a statement after the strikes targeting military and nuclear facilities in Iran, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Turkey’s foreign ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on Iran, saying it could lead to wider conflict and accusing the country of not wanting issues to be resolved through diplomatic means.
Fears for civilians as Jordan intercepts Iranian drones heading to Israel
Air raid sirens sounded over Jordan’s capital Friday as Iranian drones were inbound to target Israel. Jordanian state media said the country’s air force is intercepting missiles and drones in its air space.
State news agency quoted an unnamed senior military official as saying that the interceptions were carried out based on military assessments indicating that the missiles and drones were likely to fall within Jordanian territory, including populated areas, posing a potential threat to civilian safety.
The official added that the Jordan Armed Forces are operating “around the clock to defend the country’s borders by land, sea, and air and will not allow any violation of Jordanian airspace under any circumstances”.
The Israeli military said it was intercepting drones outside Israeli territory.
Two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that more than 100 drones launched from Iran toward Israel were tracked crossing Iraqi airspace.
Residents of Iraq’s Diyala province, which borders Iran, reported hearing the sound of aircraft and explosions from strikes inside Iranian territory early Friday. Some later said they saw drones launched from Iran heading toward Israel.
Amid reports of drones now being fired towards Israel, the airlines El Al and Arkia have said they are moving their aircraft out of the country. Earlier, low cost airline Israir said it was evacuating and relocating its aircraft from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, adding this was part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days.
Israel intercepting Iranian drones outside Israeli territory
Israel’s military says it has begun intercepting Iranian drones. An Israeli official told Associated Press the interceptions are taking place outside of Israeli territory, but did not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.
This is a breaking development, we will bring you more when we have it…
