WAR Explodes Across Middle East: Iran attacks Israel and vows to strike the US after PM Netanyahu's air raids destroy nuclear plants, and kill top scientists and commanders
Israel has bombed Iran's nuclear facilities and assassinated leading military officials in devastating strikes, prompting fears the Middle East is on the brink of war.
By BRITTANY CHAIN & ELENA SALVONI
June 13, 2025
Israel has bombed Iran's nuclear facilities and assassinated leading military officials in devastating strikes - prompting fears the Middle East is on the brink of war.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Operation Rising Lion, which involved more than 200 Israeli jets, targeted an Iranian nuclear facility in Natanz and the country's ballistic missile program.
The US has distanced itself from the strikes and warned Iran not to attack US bases in the region in retaliation, telling Tehran it was not involved in the attacks.
Iran vowed to respond 'harshly' to the strikes on its nuclear facilities and sites in the capital Tehran, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing that Israel will face 'severe punishment'.
Explosions boomed across Tehran as simultaneous raids took place at nuclear and military sites, as well as the homes of highly sought after targets with knowledge of the state's nuclear program.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami was among the military leaders killed in the strikes, with six leading nuclear scientists also confirmed dead by state media.
Top Iran military chiefs killed in airstrikes, including second second-highest commander
Major General Mohammad Bagheri has been confirmed killed in the airstrikes.
Bagheri is the chief of staff of the Armed Forces in Iran, making him the second highest commander after the Supreme Leader.
His death is considered a significant blow to Iran's chain of command.
Local media also identified Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, the Commander of Iran's Central Headquarters, along with his son, as 'martyrs' to Friday morning's attack.
Earlier it was confirmed that the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, was among the dead.
Additionally, two highly important nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a physicist and president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran, have been killed.
Bracing for retaliation, Israel's military warned Friday morning that more than 100 Iranian drones had been launched at the country, which it said it was working to intercept.
Follow along for updates.
Britain’s will not protect Israel when Iran retaliates'
Britain will not protect Israel when Iran retaliates as it did during Tehran's missile attacks in October 2024, the Defense Editor of The Times, Larisa Brown, reports.
Mossad launched sabotage attacks to damage Iranian air defenses before strikes.
Mossad launched behind-the-scenes sabotage attacks targeting Iranian strategic missile systems and air defense capabilities, officials have been quoted as saying.
Axios reporter Barak David quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: 'Alongside extensive airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force, the Mossad led a series of covert sabotage operations deep inside Iran.
'These operations were aimed at damaging Iran’s strategic missile sites and its air defense capabilities.'
Graphic: The Iranian nuclear and military sites in Israel's crosshairs as jets target Natanz facility
Israel is preparing for attack on Iran to last two weeks
Israeli officials have warned the attack on Iran could last for two weeks, local media have quoted officials as saying.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned citizens to be prepared, to buy food and to remain near shelters after a state of emergency was declared in the country.
Airline announces flight cancellations and planes evacuated from Israeli airport
Emirates airline said flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran had been cancelled, after Israel launched strikes on Iran on Friday, sparking concerns of a wider escalation.
Earlier, we reported how Jordan had, closed its airspace following Israel’s strikes on Iran in the early hours.
Iran, Israel and Iraq have also shut their airspace.
Meanwhile, Israeli airline Israir said it was evacuating and relocating its aircraft from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, adding this was part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days.
'No nuclear contamination so far' after Israel attack on Iran enrichment site
Israel's attack on a key nuclear facility in Iran on Friday did not result in any nuclear contamination, state media reported.
'The attack on Natanz has not resulted in any nuclear contamination so far,' the official IRNA news agency quoted the deputy police chief of Isfahan province as saying, adding that there have been no reported deaths from the attack as of yet.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said it has been monitoring the situation closely, confirmed that no increase in radiation levels has been observed at the site.
The IAEA also said it had been informed by Iranian authorities that the Bushehr nuclear plant was not targeted in the attack.
At least six nuclear scientists were killed in Israel’s attacks on Iran
'Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feqhi, Motalleblizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoun Abbasi were the nuclear scientists martyred in Israel's attack, Iran's Tasnim news agency said.
Pictured: Smoke rises from explosions in Natanz after Israeli strikes on Iran nuclear facilities
Israeli jets 'still attacking' Iran nuclear sites
The Israeli military said at around 6am BST that jets were still conducting strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites.
'Our pilots attacked and are still attacking military targets and targets related to the nuclear programme in various areas in Iran,' spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told journalists.
Iran's oil facilities were not damaged in the attack, officials say
Iran's national oil company confirmed fuel distribution is continuing unaffected despite attacks on other high-value targets.
Iran cancels scheduled nuclear negotiations with the US after airstrikes
Iranian officials just confirmed on state television that scheduled talks in Oman to negotiate nuclear capabilities will no longer go ahead.
Any discussions are now halted until further notice, they said.
America is prepared to defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates, President Trump warns
President Trump told Fox News that he was given a heads-up about the impending attack on Iran before it occurred, but insists the United States did not help.
'Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,' President Trump said.
President Trump reportedly added that the United States will defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates, which it has vowed to do.
Extraordinary damage in Tehran following Israel's strikes
Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations
For the first time in 20 years, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
Iran failed to provide the watchdog with credible explanations as to how uranium was detected at undeclared sites, despite the agency having investigated the matter for years.
Nineteen of the 35 countries on the board of the IAEA voted for the motion to declare the breach.
The motion was submitted by the ‘Quad’ of nations – the US, UK, France and Germany – who said ‘states will be held to account if they do not live up to their obligations’
Iran says the decision was ‘political’ and said they would respond by setting up a new uranium enrichment facility.
Iranian Foreign Ministry insists United States is partially to blame for the attack
In a chilling warning to Americans, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has laid the blame for Israel's attack squarely at the feet of the United States.
This comes despite repeated denials from US officials of involvement in the coordinated attacks.
'The dangerous and far-reaching effects and consequences of the Zionist regime’s aggression against our beloved homeland of Iran will be the responsibility of this regime and its supporters,' the ministry said in a statement to Al Jazeera.
'The Zionist regime’s aggressive actions against Iran cannot have been carried out without the coordination and authorization of the United States.
'Accordingly, the United States government, as the main supporter of this regime, will also be responsible for the dangerous effects and consequences of the Zionist regime’s adventure.'
READ MORE:
Iran Says It Obtained Trove of Documents on Israel's Secret Nuclear Arms
Israel’s Cyber 'War Between Wars'
Israel Vows ‘Large-Scale Attack on Iran’ Within 24 Hours
Israel's EMP Attack Can Send Iran Back to the Stone Age
Israel Will Strike Iran 's Subterranean Nuclear Sites
Share or comment on this article.
Your support is crucial in exposing fake news and in helping us defeat mass censorship.
'God will be an enemy to our enemies'.