Major Israeli attack on Tehran targets Iran's nuclear program

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 9:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Israel attacked Iran's superior aboriginal Friday in strikes targeting the country's atomic program, raising the imaginable for all-out warfare betwixt the 2 bitter adversaries.

It appeared to beryllium the astir important onslaught Iran has faced since its 1980s warfare with Iraq, with aggregate sites astir the state hit.

The person of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed, Iranian authorities tv reported, successful a large assemblage stroke to Tehran's governing theocracy and an contiguous escalation of the nations' long-simmering conflict.

A State TV anchor work a connection saying: "The quality of assassination and martyrdom of Gen. Hossein Salami was confirmed," but did not elaborate. Another apical Guard official, arsenic good arsenic 2 atomic scientists, were besides feared dead.

Israeli leaders said the onslaught was indispensable to caput disconnected what they described arsenic an imminent menace that Iran would physique atomic bombs, and they warned of a reprisal that could people civilians successful Israel. It remains unclear however adjacent Iran really is to gathering a atomic weapon.

"It could beryllium a year. It could beryllium wrong a fewer months," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said arsenic helium vowed to prosecute the onslaught for arsenic agelong arsenic indispensable to "remove this threat."

"This is simply a wide and contiguous information to Israel's precise survival."

For Netanyahu, the cognition distracts attraction from Israel's ongoing and progressively unpopular warfare successful Gaza, which is present implicit 20 months old.

There is simply a wide statement successful the Israeli nationalist that Iran is simply a large threat, and Israel's absorption leader, Yair Lapid, a staunch professional of Netanyahu, offered his "full support" for the ngo against Iran. But if Iranian reprisals origin dense Israeli casualties oregon large disruptions to regular life, Netanyahu could spot nationalist sentiment rapidly shift.

Multiple locations successful the Iranian superior were deed successful the attack, which Netanyahu said targeted some atomic and subject sites. Also targeted were officials starring Iran's atomic programme and its ballistic rocket arsenal. It wasn't wide however atrocious the harm was astatine Iran's main atomic enrichment installation astatine Natanz.

Sounds of explosions were heard again wrong hours of the archetypal strikes. It wasn't instantly wide if it was aerial defence systems going disconnected oregon different attack.

The onslaught connected Iran pushed the Israeli subject to its limits, requiring the usage of aging air-to-air refuellers to get its combatant jets adjacent capable to attack.

It wasn't instantly wide if Israeli jets entered Iranian airspace oregon conscionable fired alleged "standoff missiles" implicit different country. People successful Iraq heard combatant jets overhead astatine the clip of the attack. Israel antecedently attacked Iran from implicit the borderline successful Iraq.

U.S. says it wasn't progressive successful strikes

In Washington, the Trump administration, which earlier cautioned Israel against an onslaught amid continuing negotiations, said that it had not been progressive successful the strikes and warned Iran not to retaliate against U.S. interests oregon personnel.

The strikes followed expanding tensions that led the U.S. to propulsion immoderate diplomats from Iraq's superior and to connection voluntary evacuations for the families of U.S. troops successful the wider Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took "unilateral enactment against Iran" and that Israel advised the U.S. that it believed the strikes were indispensable for its self-defence.

"We are not progressive successful strikes against Iran and our apical precedence is protecting American forces successful the region," Rubio said successful a connection released by the White House.

The onslaught comes arsenic tensions person reached caller heights implicit Tehran's rapidly advancing atomic program.

The Board of Governors astatine the International Atomic Energy Agency for the archetypal clip successful 20 years connected Thursday censured Iran implicit the country's refusal to enactment with its inspectors. Iran instantly announced it would found a 3rd enrichment tract successful the state and swap retired immoderate centrifuges for more-advanced ones.

There are aggregate assessments connected however galore atomic weapons Iran could perchance build, should it take to bash so. Iran would request months to assemble, trial and tract immoderate weapon, which it truthful acold has said it has nary tendency to do. U.S. quality agencies besides measure Iran does not person a weapons programme astatine this time.

Iran missile, drone attacks expected: minister

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel had carried retired the attack, without saying what it targeted.

"In the aftermath of the authorities of Israel's preventive onslaught against Iran, rocket and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian colonisation are expected immediately," helium said successful a statement.

The connection added that Katz "signed a peculiar bid declaring an exigency concern successful the location front."

"It is indispensable to perceive to instructions from the location beforehand bid and authorities to enactment successful protected areas," it said.

Both Iran and Israel closed their respective airspace.

As the explosions successful Tehran started, U.S. President Donald Trump was connected the tract of the White House mingling with members of the U.S. Congress. It was unclear if helium had been informed, but the president continued shaking hands and posing for pictures for respective minutes.

Trump had said earlier that helium was urging Netanyahu to clasp disconnected on taking enactment for the clip being portion the medication negotiated with Iran.

He told reporters that arsenic agelong arsenic helium thought determination was a accidental for an agreement, "I don't privation them going in, due to the fact that I deliberation it would stroke it."