Lana Lam and Sofia Ferreira Santos
BBC News
Israel held a strike in Iran on Friday, saying they were targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
These strikes killed Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran – a powerful branch of the country’s armed forces – other senior military figures and nuclear scientists.
According to Iranian state media reports, civilians, including children, were also killed. The BBC cannot independently verify these reports.
The Israeli military said Iran launched about 100 drones to Israel on Friday morning, and the IDF said it was intercepted. Israel declared a state of emergency.
The United States said it did not participate in the strike. It was reported that including major nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran, including multiple strikes.
When and where did the strike happen?
An explosion occurred in Tehran, the capital of Iran, at about 03:30 local time (BST 01:00).
Iranian state television said residential areas in Tehran were attacked and explosions were heard in the northeast of the capital.
In Israel, residents were awakened by air strike sirens at about the same time and received an emergency telephone alarm.
Israel’s military said it had set out “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different regions of Iran.”
According to Iranian state media, hours after the initial strike, according to Iranian state media, the Natanz nuclear facility was reportedly exploded, which is about 225 kilometers (140 miles) south of the capital.
The IDF later confirmed that it had attacked the site and said its attack had caused significant losses.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a global nuclear regulator, said Iranian authorities informed Natanz that the radiation levels at the Natanz plant had not increased.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said nuclear facilities “will never be attacked” and such strikes have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security”.
In a statement to board members, he called on “all parties to exercise the greatest restrictions to avoid further escalation” and said: “Any military action that endangers the safety and safeguards of nuclear facilities may have serious consequences for the people of Iran, the region and elsewhere.”
How did we get to this point?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says strike – called action rising lion – It is a “targeted military operation Regressing Iran is a very existential threat to Israel”.
The action “will continue for several days to eliminate the spread”, he said.
Netanyahu said Iran has taken steps to “weapons” in recent months, “if it is not stopped, Iran can produce nuclear weapons in a very short time.”
An Israeli military official told the BBC that Iran has enough nuclear material to build nuclear bombs “within a few days.”
In his speech, Netanyahu also thanked US President Donald Trump for “faced with Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”
The strike is our conversation about Iran’s nuclear program, which began in April and seems to have stalled in recent days. The next round of talks is scheduled to take place on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to reach a deal to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has long insisted that its nuclear activities are peaceful.
Trump reportedly had a “tensive” call with Netanyahu, who had long advocated military rather than diplomatic approaches to Iran’s nuclear energy, reportedly.
last year, Iran and Israel launch many air strikes on each other In April and October – although last year Israel’s strike was not as extensive as current operations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Says Attack “Declaration of War”
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “should be severely punished” while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a “declaration of war.”
Iran launched about 100 drones to Israel on Friday morning, IDF said. The military said it was intercepting drones.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said its armed forces would not “hesitate to go all out to defend Iran’s sovereignty.”
In a statement, the ministry called Israel’s actions an act of a “act of aggression” and said: “As the regime’s main patron, the U.S. government will also be held responsible.”
Trump calls for Iran deal “too late”
Trump responded to the strike, saying he gave Iran a “stop opportunity” to reach a deal, but “they just couldn’t finish it.”
“Some Iranian officials speak bravely, but they don’t know what will happen,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “They are dead now,” he added.
“There have been great death and destruction, but there is still time for this massacre, and the next attack that has been planned is even more cruel and ends.
“Iran must reach an agreement before nothing is left and preserve what was once called the Iranian Empire. There is no more death, no more destruction, just do it, it’s too late.”
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States Not involved in the strike And no help was provided.
He said the U.S.’s priority is to protect the U.S. military in the region.
In other international reactions, Oman, this Has been mediating the United States-Iran nuclear negotiationsIt held Israel responsible for “this escalation and its consequences”, said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the reports on the strike were “about” and urged France and France to demote.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the strike could “further damage to already turbulent areas”.
Japan, Türkiye, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia also condemned the strike.
China said this was “very concerned about the possible serious consequences of the strike.”
His spokesman said UN Secretary-General António Guterres asked the two sides to “maximum restraint” to avoid “declining to deeper conflict at all costs.”
Who was killed?
The IDF said three Iranian military commanders were “eliminated during the Israeli strike.”
They are Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Gholamali Rashid, commander of the headquarters of Khatam-Al Anbiya Central, and Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces.
The IRGC later said that the Air Force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh also killed along with a group of other IRGC units.
The Israeli military said its overnight attack focused on “more than 100 targets, including the Iranian chief of staff and senior figures of the nuclear program leaders.”
Tasnim, an IRGC affiliate news agency, reported that six nuclear scientists were also killed during the strike, five of whom were named:
- Former Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoon Abbasi
- Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi participated in Iran’s nuclear weapons program
- Abdulhamid Minouchehr, Director of Nuclear Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran
- Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Shahid Beheshti University
- Amirhossein Feqhi, another nuclear professor at Shahid Beheshti University
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was also seriously injured, according to Iran.
State media reported that civilians, including children, were also killed.
The BBC cannot independently verify these reports.
What is Iran’s nuclear program?
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. It has several facilities near Iran, at least some against Israel’s strikes.
However, many countries, as well as the global nuclear regulator IAEA, do not believe that Iran’s plans are for civilian purposes only.
This week, the board of directors of regulators Officially declared Iran violates its non-proliferation obligation This is the first time in 20 years.
It cites Iran’s “many failures” to provide complete answers about undeclared nuclear material and Iran’s abundant uranium.
An earlier report from the IAEA said Iran enriched uranium to 60% purity, enough to create nine nuclear bombs near weapon-grade uranium.
