Many areas in Iran were engulfed in smoke and fire after Israel launched preemptive airstrikes on nuclear and military facilities in the country.
On June 13, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the launch of Operation “Lion Rising”, preemptively launching airstrikes on dozens of military and nuclear targets in many areas of Iran.
The IDF said Iran was “closer than ever” to acquiring nuclear weapons and that Israel was forced to act to protect its citizens.
Iranian state media reported that several buildings and residential areas in the capital Tehran and other cities were hit in the Israeli attack. Children were among the dead.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had struck “the heart of Iran’s nuclear program,” including the Natanz facility and its nuclear experts, as well as Tehran’s ballistic missile program.
He said the operation would last for days “until the threat is eliminated”, stressing that Israel was in a “historic moment for the country”.
The complex, located about 250 km south of the capital Tehran, is considered the largest uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Analysts say this is where Iran develops and assembles centrifuges, important equipment for making uranium for nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it is in contact with Iranian authorities to determine the level of radiation at Natanz.
Two top military officials were killed, including Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Mohammad Bagheri, chief of the general staff of the armed forces.
At least two Iranian nuclear experts, Fereydou Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, were also killed.
Iranian leader Ali Khamenei accused Israel of “revealing its evil nature by attacking residential areas”, and warned that Tel Aviv would suffer a “bitter and painful fate”.
He stressed that the “successors and colleagues” of the slain commanders and scientists would immediately resume their work.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel had informed Washington that this was an act of self-defense, and affirmed that the US did not participate in the allied operation.
He also asked Iran not to target US facilities or military personnel in the region in retaliation.
Firefighters work at the scene of a damaged building in Tehran.
A woman grieves at the scene of an attack on a building in Tehran.
Hours after Tel Aviv’s attack, Iran retaliated, launching more than 100 suicide UAVs into Israel.
