Air raid sirens sound across Israel following an Iranian missile attack

An Israeli military official says dozens of incoming missiles launched from Iran have been detected. At least 1 explosion was heard in Jerusalem.

Dubai (UAE): Air raid sirens have sounded across Israel following an Iranian missile attack on the country. The rumble of explosions could be heard throughout Jerusalem, and Israeli TV stations showed plumes of smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. The army said dozens of missiles were launched. The army has ordered residents across the country to move into bomb shelters.

Iran responds with Operation Severe Punishment

Iran’s state news agency reported that Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel as part of its retaliation for Israel’s Friday attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites. IRNA said the Iranian military had dubbed its operation “Severe Punishment.”

Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to attack key facilities and kill top generals and scientists — a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.

The ongoing military and intelligence operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.

Iran quickly retaliated by sending a swarm of drones at Israel, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of “severe punishment.”

Iran had been censured by the U.N.’s atomic watchdog a day earlier for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran’s dispersed and hardened nuclear program.

⭕️ WATCH: The Israeli Navy intercepting UAVs launched from Iran by missile boats: pic.twitter.com/aRbwUJJviM

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 13, 2025

UNSC calls emergency meeting

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday afternoon at Iran’s request. In a letter to the council, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the killing of its officials and scientists “state terrorism” and affirmed his country’s right to self-defense.

“Israel will come to deeply regret this reckless aggression and the grave strategic miscalculation it has made,” he said.Israel’s military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets.

Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.It was not possible to independently confirm the officials’ claims.

Israel targets Iran’s nuke sites

Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southest of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby.Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, too — though Iran didn’t immediately acknowledge it — and that it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.

Israel military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was “significantly damaged” and that the operation was “still in the beginning.”