The attack comes days before the sixth round of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington
An Israeli fighter jet at an airbase in Eilat, Israel, on July 20, 2025. © Israel Defense Forces / Anadolu / Getty Images
Israel announced a “preemptive” strike in Iran on Friday and declared a state of emergency in anticipation of possible retaliation.
Multiple loud explosions were reported in Tehran, along with missile interceptions.
The IDF said it targeted both military and nuclear sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that a nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz was among the targets.
News organizations reported last month that Israel had discussed potential strikes on Iranian nuclear sites with the United States.
The attack comes after five rounds of U.S.-Iranian talks on Iran’s nuclear program failed to produce a breakthrough. The sixth round of negotiations is scheduled for Sunday in Oman.
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13 June 2025
02:22 GMT
According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, loud explosions were heard near the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, and eyewitnesses reported seeing smoke rising from the site.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that a fire has broken out at the facility.
🚨🎥🇮🇷 WATCH: Fire emerges from Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility after it had been struck during the Israeli military strike pic.twitter.com/RCj0S3DcyQ
— Politics Global (@PolitlcsGlobal) June 13, 2025
- 02:00 GMT
Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported that the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami has been killed in an Israeli strike.
According to unconfirmed reports, other victims include Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Gholam Ali Rashid.
- 01:49 GMT
Iranian state media have reported civilian casualties in the capital.
Scenes capture the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian civilian neighborhoods and residential buildings in Tehran.Follow Press TV on Telegram: https://t.co/LWoNSpkJShpic.twitter.com/USOBypxTOr
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) June 13, 2025
- 01:43 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF has struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz.
He added that the strikes, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, will “continue for as many days as it takes to remove the threat” from Iran.
- 01:22 GMT
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement saying that the United States is not involved in Israel’s “unilateral action against Iran.”
pic.twitter.com/oRy6E1DTQJ
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 13, 2025
- 01:16 GMT
Dozens of aircraft participated in the “opening strike,” hitting “dozens of military targets, including nuclear sites in various regions of Iran,” the IDF said.
- 01:08 GMT
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had “begun preemptive and precise strikes targeting the Iranian nuclear program in order to prevent the Iranian regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate timeframe.”
“Over the past few months, intelligence has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said.
A statement from IDF Spokesperson BG Effie Defrin on the preemptive Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear targets pic.twitter.com/IJNT5LXz6o
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 13, 2025
- 01:00 GMT
Videos from the scene show destruction in residential areas. Unconfirmed reports on Iran-linked Telegram channels claimed that the apartment complexes housed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- Scenes from Tehran, Iran. pic.twitter.com/L2hnWiZxBE
— Rerum Novarum // Intel, Breaking News, and Alerts (@officialrnintel) June 13, 2025
- 00:52 GMT
Unverified reports on social media show thick clouds of smoke billowing over Tehran. Iranian media have confirmed that loud explosions and air raid sirens were heard in the capital.
🇮🇱 🇮🇷 Israel Launches Airstrikes on Iran’s Capital, Tehran pic.twitter.com/K4ZfbtJCHJ
— David Wolfe (@DavidWolfe) June 13, 2025
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