Israel launched an unprecedented assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military infrastructure Friday, killing the country’s most powerful military commanders and dealing a devastating blow to Tehran’s nuclear program in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “Operation Rising Lion.”
As the dust settled, the scale of the attack is beginning to be fully understood and the countries stand on the brink of all-out war.
Israel’s massive air campaign used 200 fighter jets that dropped over 330 munitions and struck more than 100 targets across Iran, marking the largest strike on Iranian territory since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Iranian state media confirmed that several of the regime’s most senior leaders were killed, including Major General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart Iran’s nuclear weaponization program,” Netanyahu declared in a national address. “We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb.”
The Israeli military confirmed that Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s Air Force, was also eliminated along with other senior officials in an underground command center where Iran’s air force leadership had assembled to prepare for an attack on Israel.
Iranian state-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported that six nuclear scientists were killed in the strikes, including veteran scientists Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi. Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency confirmed Salami’s death in Tehran, calling it an “assassination.”
The attacks struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, with Israel bombing the Natanz uranium enrichment facility multiple times. However, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said the facility suffered only “superficial damage” and that most damage was on the surface, while enrichment capabilities remain underground.
Netanyahu warned that the operation would continue indefinitely, stating, “This operation will continue for as many days as it takes.” He described Iran as having enough highly enriched uranium for nine nuclear weapons and taking unprecedented steps to weaponize that material.
“For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly, openly called for Israel’s destruction. They’ve backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a program to develop nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. “In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs, nine. In recent months, Iran is taking steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponize this enriched uranium, and if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.”
The Israeli operation involved extensive intelligence gathering and covert activities inside Iran. An Israeli security official revealed that Israel tricked top Iranian air force commanders into gathering for a meeting through specific deception operations.
“We carried out specific activities to help us learn more about them, and then used that information to influence their behavior,” the official said. “We knew this would lead them to meet — but more importantly, we knew how to keep them there.”
Mossad agents operating inside Iran deployed precision-guided weapons near Tehran’s surface-to-air missile systems and established bases for explosive drones that were activated during the attack to target missile launchers near the capital.
Iran retaliated by launching over 100 drones toward Israeli territory, with Iraqi security officials reporting the drones crossed Iraqi airspace. Israel’s military said its defenses were working to intercept the incoming threats, and most were successfully stopped.
President Donald Trump, who was briefed on the operation beforehand, supported Israel’s actions while warning Iran of even more devastating attacks to come.
“We of course support Israel, obviously and supported it like nobody has ever supported it,” Trump told CNN. “Iran should have listened to me when I said – you know I gave them, I don’t know if you know, but I gave them a 60-day warning and today is day 61.”
Trump had set a 60-day deadline for nuclear deal negotiations that began April 12, and the deadline passed Thursday. In a Truth Social post, Trump warned Iran to agree to a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left.”
“There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,” Trump wrote. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei immediately appointed new military commanders to replace those killed in the strikes. Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour was named new IRGC commander replacing Salami, while Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi became the new chief of staff replacing Bagheri.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter and painful fate, which it will inevitably meet,” Khamenei warned in a statement. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged the nation to remain unified.
“I ask the entire nation to maintain their unity… at the same time to trust the officials.” He vowed to give Israel a “tough, rational and powerful response.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attack “a declaration of war,” while crowds of protesters rallied in Tehran calling for retaliation against the Israeli strikes.
The attacks caused widespread fear among Iranian civilians, with residents reporting “shaking” homes and buildings as explosions rocked Tehran and other major cities. Fresh Israeli strikes continued Friday morning, targeting the northwestern city of Tabriz, where Tasnim news agency reported the airport was “under heavy Israeli attack.”
Iran suspended all domestic and international flights as the crisis escalated, while multiple Middle Eastern countries closed their airspaces including Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran itself.
International reactions were mixed, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasizing that the U.S. was not involved in the strikes while warning Iran against targeting American interests.
“President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners,” Rubio said. “Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
French President Emmanuel Macron urged “all parties to exercise maximum restraint,” while Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s “blatant Israeli aggression” against Iran. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint and expressed particular concern about attacks on nuclear installations.
The strikes came just before a scheduled sixth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States that were expected Sunday. Iran announced it was pulling out of nuclear talks following the Israeli attacks, with senior Iranian lawmaker Aladdin Boroujerdi saying the talks would not take place.
The International Atomic Energy Agency had declared Iran in violation of several non-proliferation commitments in a resolution passed Thursday, expressing concern about rapidly accelerating uranium enrichment activities. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi warned that Iran was maintaining illicit enrichment sites and attempting to “sanitize” them when caught.
In response to international criticism, Iran defiantly announced plans for yet another uranium enrichment facility.
“The head of the Atomic Energy Organization has issued orders to establish a new uranium enrichment facility in a secure location and to replace first-generation centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment site with advanced IR-6 machines,” Iranian state media reported.
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin warned that Israel must prepare for “a prolonged operation” and confirmed that Iran was preparing a larger counterattack.
“We know they’re preparing for a response and to fire at us,” Defrin said.
Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people directly, drawing a distinction between the regime and its citizens.
“To the brave people of Iran, I have a message for them: Our fight is not with you. Our fight is with the brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years,” Netanyahu said. “I believe that the day of your liberation is near, and when that happens the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again.”
The operation represents a dramatic escalation in the long-standing shadow war between Israel and Iran, and puts the region on the brink of total war.
Israel declared a state of emergency, closing schools, banning social gatherings, and calling up tens of thousands of soldiers to prepare for Iran’s promised retaliation.
The Israeli military advised their civilians to stay near bomb shelters over the threat of Iranian attacks on civilians.