Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear sites early on Friday

The strikes targeted the country’s nuclear program and raised the potential for an all-out war between two bitter Middle East adversaries

Jerusalem: An Israeli military official said that the Israeli Air Force targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, without identifying them. The official spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation.Air-raid sirens preventatively rang out in Israel.

The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

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The Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency for the first time in 20 years on Thursday censured Iran over it not working with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more advanced ones.

Israel for years has warned it will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon, something Tehran insists it doesn’t want — though officials there have repeatedly warned it could.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, says Israel launched Operation “Rising Lion” against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure with the aim of eliminating an existential and immediate threat to the citizens of Israel and the entire world.

The Iranian regime is blatantly violating international agreements, advancing towards nuclear weapons, and operating a regional terror network, he said.

Speaking to the UN Secretary-General and members of the Security Council, Danon said: “This is a moment to make moral decisions. Stand by Israel – or you will be partners in a dangerous silence.”

Benchmark Brent crude oil prices have spiked by more than 8% over the Israel’s strikes on Iran, which have targeted the country’s nuclear program and raised the potential for an all-war war.

Iran’s State-run IRNA news agency is quoting an anonymous official saying Iran will offer a “decisive” response to Israel’s attack.The report did not elaborate. However, Iranian state television put a black band over the corner of its broadcast, suggesting the attack had been significant enough to spark public mourning.

Black smoke seen over Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilityBlack smoke rose on Friday over Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz though it wasn’t clear how bad the damage was.Iranian State television briefly showed the live picture with a reporter. Natanz is partially above ground, partially below ground, with multiple halls of centrifuges spinning uranium gas for its nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said Israel targeted the site in Friday’s attack. Natanz previously has been targeted by the Stuxnet cyberattack and multiple sabotage campaigns likely carried out by Israel.

An Israeli security official says that Netanyahu and other top officials decided on Monday that the operation would start today.

Australia and New Zealand’s governments condemned the Israeli strikes on Friday. The two countries were among five that enacted travel and financial sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers on Wednesday, accusing them of “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Iranian state television says the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, is feared dead after an Israeli attack. It added that one other top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead. The report offered few other details.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, created after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is one of the main power centers within the country’s theocracy. It also controls Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, which it has used to attack Israel twice during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli attack on Iran has set the headquarters of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard ablaze, state television reported. A reporter on air said he was unable to get closer due to the intensity of the fire in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Multiple sites in the capital had been hit in the attack, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said targeted both sites of and officials leading Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country’s ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials.He said Iran was working on a new plan to destroy Israel after its old plan, its circle of proxies, failed. He called it an intolerable threat that must be stopped.

US Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the Israeli strike “a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence.”“These strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces,” he said.

Dozens of commercial airliners were in Iranian airspace as the strikes took place, according to flight tracking websites.More than an hour after the Israeli attack, some were still making their way out of Iranian airspace, but some abruptly altered course to more quickly exit the area. Many nations’ jets already did not overfly Iran because of regional tensions.

The extent of Israel’s strikes remained unclear early. Explosions could be heard across Tehran, Iran’s capital city. There were some images circulating of damaged residential buildings. Iranian state television also was being careful in how they described the assault, suggesting that some areas outside of Tehran that had also been hit.

Israel closed its airspace in anticipation of Iranian retaliation. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that attacks were expected.“In the wake of the state of Israel’s preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately,” he said in a statement.

The statement added that Katz “signed a special order declaring an emergency situation in the home front.”“It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,” it said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the U.S. that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense, while warning Iran not to target US forces in retaliation.

President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”

The US intelligence community assesses that Iran is not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon. Second, the Israeli official said, Iran has thousands of ballistic missiles. Finally, he said Iran has been distributing weapons and arms to proxy groups across the region like Hezbollah and Hamas.

As the explosions in Tehran started, President Donald Trump was on the lawn of the White House mingling with members of Congress. It was unclear if he had been informed but the president continued shaking hands and posing for pictures for several minutes.

Earlier in the day, Trump said an Israeli attack over Iran’s nuclear program was not imminent “but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen.” The US has been preparing for something to happen, pulling some diplomats from Iraq’s capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East.