Israel attacked Iran early yesterday with a barrage of airstrikes that took out top military officers, and hit nuclear and missile sites, calling it just the beginning and raising the potential for an all-out war between the two Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran quickly retaliated, sending a swarm of drones at Israel as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of “severe punishment.”
Iran had been censured by the UN’s atomic watchdog a day earlier for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Photo: AFP
Countries in the region condemned Israel’s attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides.
Israel’s military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets.
Two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the country’s Mossad spy agency was also able to position explosive drones inside Iran ahead of time and then activate them to target missile launchers at an Iranian base near Tehran.
Israel had also smuggled precision weapons into central Iran as well as strike systems on vehicles, which were activated as the attack began to hit Iranian air defenses, they said.
The Israeli attack hit several sites, including Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air.
Later in the morning, Israel said it had also destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.
Among those killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders: General Mohammad Bagheri who oversaw the Iranian armed forces, Revolutionary Guard leader General Hossein Salami and General Amir Ali Hajizadeh who ran the Guard’s ballistic missile program.
Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed.
In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel, which the latter said were being intercepted outside its airspace.
US President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel’s attacks “will only get worse.”
Without saying whether he was privy to Israeli plans, Trump said “there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end.”
“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 IS TOO LATE.”
Officials in Washington had cautioned Israel against an attack during continued negotiations over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
They stressed the US had not been involved and warned against any retaliation targeting US interests or personnel.
Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, although it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike.
Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.
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