Israel began “preemptive” strikes early Friday on Iran, without involvement from the U.S., amid growing regional tensions and concerns about Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Explosions were seen and heard across the country, including in the capital Tehran as well as in the city of Natanz, where a nuclear facility is located.
Calling the operations “Rising Lion,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement said the strikes targeted areas focused on “nuclear enrichment” and “nuclear weaponization” programs. The operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” Netanyahu said.
Sources on the ground tell TIME that apartment buildings where senior Iranian officers and officials were believed to reside appear to have also been targeted.
Iranian state media reported that Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami was killed as well as nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi. According to the Times of Israel, citing an Israeli defense official, Iran’s military top brass, including Armed Forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, were also targeted and there is an “increasing” belief that they were eliminated.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it launched a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive to strike Iran’s nuclear program,” with dozens of Air Force jets targeting “nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.” Axios Reporter Barak Ravid reported that a senior Israel official said the airstrikes were accompanied by a series of Mossad-led “covert sabotage operations deep inside Iran” that were designed to damage Iran’s missile sites and air defense capabilities.
IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin said its “preemptive and precise strikes” were targeted to prevent Iran’s “ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate time frame.” Defrin added: “We have no choice—we are operating against an imminent and existential threat.”
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that a retaliatory attack on Israel and its civilian population “is expected in the immediate timeframe.”
According to NBC, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security team monitored Israel’s strikes on Iran from the White House Situation Room.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement: “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. 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 attack comes a day after the U.S. began evacuating embassy personnel across the Middle East amid rising regional tensions as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program have appeared to stall.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee posted on X amid the strikes: “At our Embassy in Jerusalem and closely following the situation. We will remain here all night. ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!’” The State Department directed all embassy employees and their families in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza to shelter in place.
U.S. lawmakers have had mixed reactions. Sen. Tom Cotton (R, Ark.), posted on X: “Proud to stand with Israel.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D, Ct.) posted: “Israel’s attack on Iran, clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration’s negotiations with Tehran, is further evidence of how little respect world powers—including our own allies—have for President Trump.”
Trump has not yet publicly commented on the strike, though the White House said he will attend a National Security Council meeting on Friday morning.
This is a developing story and will be updated.