Month: June 2025

Associated Press

By JON GAMBRELL, JOSEF FEDERMAN and JULIA FRANKEL – Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s state news agency reported that Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel as part of its retaliation for Israel’s Friday attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites.

IRNA said the Iranian military had dubbed its operation “Severe Punishment.â€

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Air raid sirens have sounded across Israel ahead following an Iranian missile attack on the country.

The rumble of explosions could be heard throughout Jerusalem, and Israeli TV stations showed plumes of smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The army said dozens of missiles were launched.

The army has ordered residents across the country to move into bomb shelters.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The following is AP’s previous story.

Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to attack key facilities and kill top generals and scientists — a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.

The ongoing military and intelligence operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.

Iran quickly retaliated by sending a swarm of drones at Israel, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of “severe punishment.†Iran had been censured by the U.N.’s atomic watchdog a day earlier for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran’s dispersed and hardened nuclear program.

But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack — plus the reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump — created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was informed in advance of the attack.

Countries in the region condemned Israel’s attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate deescalation from both sides. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday afternoon at Iran’s request.

In a letter to the council, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the killing of its officials and scientists “state terrorism” and affirmed his country’s right to self-defense. “Israel will come to deeply regret this reckless aggression and the grave strategic miscalculation it has made,†he said.

Israel’s military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not possible to independently confirm the officials’ claims.

Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southest of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby.

Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, too — though Iran didn’t immediately acknowledge it — and that it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.

Israel military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was “significantly damaged†and that the operation was “still in the beginning.â€

The first wave of strikes had given Israel “significant freedom of movement†in Iran’s skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with the media.

The official said Israel is prepared for an operation that could last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline and it would depend largely on how Iran responds.

Among those killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed.

Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making. In a video statement sent to journalists Friday, he said he ordered plans for the attack last November, soon after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, one of Iran’s strongest proxies. Netanyahu said the attack was planned for April but was postponed.

In its first response Friday, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israel’s military said it called up reservists and began stationing troops in “all combat arenas†throughout the country as it braced for further retaliation from Iran or Iranian proxy groups on its border.

Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel’s attacks “will only get worse.â€

“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,†he wrote.

On Wednesday, the U.S. pulled some American diplomats from Iraq’s capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of U.S. troops in the wider Middle East. On Friday, the U.S. began shifting military resources in the region, including ships, as Israel prepared for more retaliation, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Officials in Washington had cautioned Israel against an attack earlier in the week, so as not to disrupt U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program. They stressed Friday that the U.S. had not been involved in the attack, and warned against any retaliation targeting U.S. interests or personnel.

Israel calls attacks preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear program

Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though 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.

“This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival,†Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to “remove this threat.â€

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons.

Over the past year, Israel has been targeting Iran’s air defenses, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October.

On Friday, Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere to buy bottled water and other supplies. But, otherwise, streets and parks were mostly deserted.

Iran says Israel targeted residential areas

For Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel’s ongoing and increasingly devastating war in Gaza, which is now over 20 months old.

There is a broad consensus in the Israeli public that Iran is a major threat, and Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, a staunch critic of Netanyahu, offered his “full support†for the mission against Iran. But if Iranian reprisals cause heavy Israeli casualties or major disruptions to daily life, public opinion could shift quickly.

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah issued a statement that offered condolences and condemned the attack, but did not threaten to join Iran in its retaliation. Hezbollah’s latest war with Israel â€” which killed much of the group’s senior leadership — ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November.

Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, said in a statement that Israel “opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centers.â€

Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran’s theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the “brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years.â€

“I believe that the day of your liberation is near,†he said.

Tension had been growing for weeks ahead of attacks

The potential for an attack had been apparent for weeks as angst built over Iran’s nuclear program.

Israel has long been determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a concern laid bare on Thursday when the International Atomic Energy Agency for the first time in 20 years censured Iran over its refusal to work with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site and install more advanced centrifuges.

Even so, there are multiple assessments on how many nuclear weapons Iran could conceivably build, should it choose to do so. Iran would need months to assemble, test and field any weapon, which it so far has said it has no desire to do. U.S. intelligence agencies also assess Iran does not have a weapons program at this time.

Once the attacks were underway, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an alert telling American government workers and their families to shelter in place until further notice.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran†and that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz was hit, and said it was closely monitoring radiation levels.

Trump is scheduled to attend a meeting of his National Security Council on Friday in the White House Situation Room.

Federman and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi, Amir Vahdat and Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran; Melanie Lidman and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel; Matthew Lee and Eric Tucker in Washington; Bassem Mroue and Abby Sewell in Beirut; Edith Lederer at the United Nations and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.

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CNN

CNN

By Helen Regan, Lauren Izso and Tamar Michaelis, CNN

(CNN) — Israel struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear, missile and military complex early Friday, in an unprecedented attack that reportedly killed three of Iran’s most powerful figures and plunges the wider Middle East into dangerous new territory.

The strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and senior military leaders could be a turning point in the long-running conflict, with Israel braced for a major Iranian retaliation – and the threat of a wider regional war breaking out now a real risk.

Later Friday morning, that retaliation appeared to be underway after Israel’s military said Iran had launched more than 100 drones toward Israel, and that Israel had begun “intercepting†them outside of its borders.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel will face “severe punishment†for the attacks, and confirmed that a number of Iranian commanders and scientists had been killed. Iran’s Armed Forces spokesperson said both the United States and Israel would “pay dearly.â€

The United States was not involved in the strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, noting that Israel had “advised†the US that it believed the “action was necessary for its self-defense.†Earlier, President Donald Trump had warned of the possibility of “massive conflict†in the Middle East that could take place “soon.â€

In a televised address to the nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation had “struck at the head of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program†and targets included Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz, Iranian nuclear scientists, and Iran’s ballistic missiles program.

“Moments ago, Israel launched operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,†Netanyahu said in a televised address.

“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.â€

An Israeli military statement later Friday said Israeli fighter jets had also completed a “large-scale strike†on aerial defense arrays in western Iran. “As part of the strikes, dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers were destroyed,†it said.

One of Iran’s most powerful men, General Hossein Salami — the commander-in-chief of the country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — was among those killed in the attacks, the IRGC confirmed. Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and the country’s highest-ranking military officer, was also killed, according to Iran’s state TV IRINN.

Iran’s former national security chief Ali Shamkhani, a key adviser to Khamenei who served as secretary of the National Security Council for almost a decade, was killed, IRINN reported. Also among the dead were six of Iran’s nuclear scientists, state affiliated Tasnim news agency said.

Friday’s strikes suggest Netanyahu saw a window of opportunity to meet Israel’s longstanding objective of obliterating Iran’s nuclear program. Iran is in its weakest military position in decades following crippling economic sanctions, previous Israeli strikes on its air defenses and decimation of its most powerful regional proxies, including Hezbollah.

A sixth round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran had been scheduled for Sunday, and US officials had previously told CNN that Israeli strikes on Iran would be a brazen break with Trump’s approach on the Middle East.

Several countries voiced alarm and condemnation at Israel’s strikes, with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry saying the attack undermines Iran’s “sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms,†and China’s embassy in Iran calling the situation “severe and complex.â€

Residents in Iran faced a long and terrifying night. “People reported the ground shaking, hearing explosions, and jets flying overhead,†Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, told CNN.

Repeated explosions could be heard in the capital Tehran, and multiple videos geolocated by CNN showed flames and smoke billowing from buildings across the city. Iran’s airspace has also been closed, its civil aviation authority said.

Israel declared a state of special emergency, closing its airspace, shutting schools and banning social gatherings. “Tens of thousands†of Israeli soldiers were being called up in preparation for an Iranian retaliation, Israel’s military chief of staff said.

Fears of wider war

Analysts and experts have long warned that Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear capabilities could trigger a massive Iranian retaliation and threaten to tip the region into a full-scale war.

And if Israel and Iran become entangled in wider conflict, it could risk drawing the US into the fray. The US is Israel’s closest ally and biggest weapons supplier, and there are currently about 40,000 US troops across the Middle East, including nearly 4,000 in Iraq and Syria.

Indications of that risk emerged earlier this week as the US ordered the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East as intelligence warnings increased that an Israeli strike on Iran was imminent.

Netanyahu has repeatedly pushed for a military option to stop Iran’s nuclear program, and recent US intelligence reports said that Israel was seeking to capitalize on the destruction inflicted after it bombed Iran’s missile production facilities and air defenses in October.

Experts say an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would also likely spell the end of Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the US.

The facility at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions was engulfed in flames on Friday, according to social media images geolocated by CNN and Iranian state television.

The nuclear complex in Natanz, a city about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Tehran, is considered Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility. Analysts say the site is used to develop and assemble centrifuges for uranium enrichment, a key technology that turns uranium into nuclear fuel.

The Iranian atomic energy agency confirmed that the Natanz facility had been damaged. The complex has overground and underground facilities and it’s unclear what was impacted but no casualties were reported, the agency said.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said there were no elevated radiation levels at Natanz. Other nuclear facilities in Iran, Isfahan and Fordow “have not been impacted,†Grossi added.

Friday’s strikes came shortly after Tehran said that it would ramp up its nuclear activities due to the International Atomic Energy Agency passing a resolution saying that the country was not in compliance with its non-proliferation commitments, senior US officials told CNN.

Iran oversees a so-called Axis of Resistance across the region that includes loyal proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as various militia groups in Iraq and Syria. Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in 2023, attacks by those proxy groups have escalated in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Last year Israel and Iran’s years-long cold war erupted into the open with a series of missile strikes from both sides. At the time, the US warned Israel not to strike Iran’s energy or nuclear infrastructure.

Friday’s operation goes much further than previously seen. CNN’s security analyst Beth Sanner said that removing Salami is akin to taking out the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff: “You can imagine what Americans would do,†she said.

Iran is now “under existential threat†and as such, the Israelis will be expecting “a massive, much bigger retaliation than what they saw last time,†Sanner added.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Oren Liebermann, Jeremy Diamond, Mostafa Salem, Rhea Mogul, Nectar Gan, Jessie Yeung, Todd Symons, Jerome Taylor, Ross Adkin, Juliana Liu, Leila Gharagozlou, Isaac Yee, Teele Rebane, John Liu and Chris Lau contributed reporting.

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