Israel Targets Iranian Nuclear Sites in Major Overnight Strikes; Tehran Vows Response

Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran early Friday, striking dozens of targets including key nuclear facilities and military installations. The attack, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” has significantly escalated regional tensions, prompting Israel to declare a state of emergency in anticipation of Iranian retaliation.

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the strikes, describing them as a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive” vital to countering an existential threat. “Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu stated in a televised address, adding the operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” He asserted Iran could produce a nuclear weapon if not stopped.
   
2. Iranian state television reported casualties, including four senior officials. Among those named as killed were Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, and Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organisation.
   
3. Explosions were reported near Tehran and critical nuclear sites. Reuters, citing Iran’s state-run Nour News, reported blasts northeast of the capital. Witnesses near the Natanz uranium enrichment facility also reported multiple explosions to Reuters.
   
4. Netanyahu specifically confirmed strikes on Iran’s nuclear program: “We struck at the head of Iran’s nuclear weaponisation program… We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s nuclear scientists… We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missiles program.” He framed the action as defensive for Israel and its neighbours.
   
5. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged the operation: “Dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.” An Israeli military official told the BBC the strikes targeted “Iran’s nuclear programme and other military targets,” involving “dozens of strikes in different areas.”
   
6. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a state of emergency, citing expected Iranian retaliation. Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, and flights to Tel Aviv were diverted.
   
7. Flights were suspended at Tehran’s international airport, located approximately 30 km southwest of the capital.
   
8. CBS reported the US was informed Wednesday that Israel was preparing an operation in Iran, influencing recent US advisories for some Americans to leave the region. Former US President Donald Trump expressed opposition hours before the strikes, stating, “I don’t want them going in because… that would blow it.”
   
9. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Israel notified the US the strikes were in “self-defence” and reiterated the US was “not involved” in the operation.

(This is a developing story)