Sirens sound in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, explosions heard at Tehran airport – as it happened

Explosions were heard over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early on Saturday as Iran launched fresh missile attacks. Three people were reported to have been killed, one in Tel Aviv in an attack on Friday night and two in central Israel on Saturday morning. In Iran, fresh explosions were reported at an airport in Tehran that houses an air force base, and across the Hakimiyeh and Tehranpars neighbourhoods in the east of the capital. Iran’s envoy to the UN security council, Amir Saeid Iravani, said 78 people including senior officials had been killed in the Israeli attacks on Friday, and that more than 320 were injured, most of them civilians. He said the US was complicit in the attacks and accused Israel of seeking “to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations and to drag the region into wider conflict”. The US role in the attack remained murky with President Donald Trump giving conflicting accounts as to his approval and foreknowledge. In the run-up to the Israeli 200-plane attack, Trump had publicly urged Israel to give diplomacy more of a chance, before US-Iranian talks that were planned for Sunday. But on Friday, the US president insisted he had been well informed of Israel’s plans and described the Israeli attack as “excellent”. A top-level UN conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed, French president Emmanuel Macron said on Friday. France and Saudi Arabia had been due to co-chair the conference hosted by the UN general assembly in New York on 17-20 June, and Macron had been among leaders scheduled to attend. Israel closed all checkpoints to the Israeli-occupied West Bank as the country attacked Iran, a military official said Friday. The move sealed off entry and exit to the territory, meaning that Palestinians could not leave without special coordination. This live blog is now ending. You can follow our continued coverage here. Israel’s paramedic service says two people are confirmed to have been killed following an earlier missile strike in central Israel. A further 19 were injured. In total, three people have been killed since missile strikes against Israel began on Friday. One person was killed and 19 injured in the recent wave of missile attacks in central Israel, according to a spokesperson for Magen David Adom rescue service cited by local media. Three of the injured are in a serious condition, the spokesperson said. Iran said dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy and accused Washington of supporting the attack, reports Reuters. “The other side [the US] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime [Israel] to target Iran’s territory,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying. He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission. Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear programme. The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes. The Israel Defence Force told the public it is now possible to leave protected areas, but that they should remain nearby until further notice. Emergency responders say they are treating 10 people who sustained injuries in the latest missile attacks, adding that they are in a mild to moderate condition. Magen David Adom rescue service said these figures were based on initial reports and that its teams continue to scan affected areas. Explosions have been heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and the Israeli military told the public to find shelter, as Iran launched a fresh wave of missiles. The IDF said it had identified that missiles had been recently launched from Iran. “You must enter the protected areas upon receiving the alert, and remain there until further notice. Exiting the protected area will only be possible after receiving explicit instructions,” it added. This follows an earlier wave of missile attacks that struck a high-rise building in Tel Aviv. Police said one person died in the attacks, while Israel’s ambulance service said 34 people were injured. China condemns Israel’s violations of Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and urges Israel to immediately stop all risky military actions, China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong has said, according to a report by state-run Xinhua News Agency. Fu added that China opposes the expansion of conflicts and is deeply concerned about the consequences that may be brought about by Israel’s actions. Sirens are sounding across northern Israel, according to local media. Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that alerts had been activated in several areas of the country after it identified missiles being launched from Iran. “At this time, the Air Force is working to intercept and attack wherever necessary to eliminate the threat,” it said. A top-level UN conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed amid surging tensions in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday. Associated Press reports: France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-chair the conference hosted by the UN General Assembly in New York on June 17-20, and Macron had been among leaders scheduled to attend. The Palestinian Authority hoped the conference would revive the long-defunct peace process. Macron expressed his “determination to recognize the state of Palestine” at some point, despite the postponement. France has pushed for a broader movement toward recognizing a Palestinian state in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself. After Israel’s strikes on Iran on Friday, Macron said that France’s military forces around the Middle East are ready to help protect partners in the region, including Israel, but wouldn’t take part in any attacks on Iran. Macron told reporters that the two-state conference was postponed for logistical and security reasons, and because some Palestinian representatives couldn’t come to the event. He insisted that it would be held “as soon as possible” and that he was in discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a new date. The UN ambassadors from France and Saudi Arabia said in a letter to the 193 UN member nations that the delay is “due to the current circumstances in the Middle East that prevent regional leaders from attending the conference in New York.” Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said he had convened the National Security Council to ensure that “all necessary steps” will be taken to protect Canadian nationals amid the escalation in the Middle East. In a statement on X, he said: Iran’s nuclear program has long been a cause of grave concern, and its missile attacks across Israel threaten regional peace. Today, I convened our National Security Council to receive an update on the situation and to ensure that all necessary steps will be taken to protect our nationals and our diplomatic missions in the region. Canada reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and to ensure its security. We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and move towards a diplomatic resolution. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency has reported that several loud explosions have been heard in the Hakimiyeh and Tehranpars neighbourhoods in eastern Tehran. This follows earlier reports that two projectiles hit the Mehrabad airport area in the Iranian capital. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she had spoken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog about the escalating situation in the Middle East. she wrote in an update on X: I reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself and protect its people. At the same time, preserving regional stability is vital. I urge all parties to act with maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the situation. Diplomatic efforts are crucial to preventing further escalation. UN chief António Guterres called for Israel and Iran to halt their escalating conflict, after the two countries exchanged a barrage of missiles. He wrote on X: Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail. The Israeli military’s home front command has said citizens can leave shelters across the country but should remain near them after the army intercepted a new wave of Iranian missile attacks on Israel. “It is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country and to remain near them,” the command said on Saturday. Agence France-Presse also reported the military as saying in a separate statement that dozens of missiles had been fired in the latest salvo from Iran. “Some of the missiles were intercepted,” it said. Search and rescue forces are currently operating in a number of locations across the country in which reports of fallen projectiles were received. Two projectiles hit the Mehrabad airport area in the Iranian capital, AFP reports Iran’s Fars news agency as saying. Fire and heavy smoke was billowing from Mehrabad airport in Tehran early on Saturday, an Agence France-Presse journalist said, as local media reported an explosion in the area. The local ISNA news agency shared a video showing columns of heavy smoke rising from the area of the airport in the Iranian capital’s west, AFP said, while the Mehr news agency reported a “blast” there. A woman has been killed in Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier tonight, the Times of Israel is reporting, citing Hebrew media outlets. The woman was critically injured and later succumbed to her wounds, the Times cited the reports as saying. It said shortly beforehand that seven people had been hurt in the Iranian missile barrage, according to Hebrew media. This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage Israeli media reports monitored by Reuters say that a suspected Iranian missile struck Tel Aviv. Images on a live video stream from the Associated Press appeared to show a huge explosion in the Israeli city about 45 minutes ago. A clip of what appeared to be the same strike at about 1.14am local time, taken from Israel’s Channel 12 livestream, was posted on social media by a Palestinian photojournalist. According to the New York Times visual investigation team, some social media images posted on Telegram showed “a strike hitting a part of central Tel Aviv where a number of military facilities are located, including the headquarters of the Israeli Defense Forces”. Prominent in footage of the strike was the Marganit Tower in the Kirya area of Tel Aviv, a landmark in the center of the city that is close to the Israeli military’s headquarters. Séamus Malekafzali, a freelance journalist who writes about the Middle East, points to video uploaded to social media just more than an hour ago that is said to show Iranians cheering as they watch anti-aircraft guns responding to the Israeli attack on Tehran. Iran’s Fars news agency, which has links to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, says that Iran has launched a new wave of missiles at Israel, Reuters reports. That seems to match a report from a Times of Israel military correspondent, Emanuel Fabian, who posted on X minutes ago: “Sirens are sounding now sounding across Israel after Iran launched a fresh barrage of ballistic missiles.” According to Fabian, the Israeli military said it had detected “a new barrage of ballistic missiles launched from Iran at Israel”. Here’s a look at where things stand: Iran’s UN ambassador said that 78 people were killed and 320 were wounded in Israel’s airstrikes on Iran. The death toll comes after Israel’s attacks across Iran, which hit dozens of targets in and around Tehran, including nuclear facilities and official headquarters. The US military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, according to US officials. The US interceptions have so far been carried out by ground-based systems, Reuters is reporting, citing one of the officials. Benjamin Netanyahu has said the public is permitted to leave sheltered places following a fresh wave of retaliatory missiles flown over Israel from Iran. In an address on Saturday night, the Israeli prime minister said that “the Iranian regime has never been weaker”, adding: “This is an opportunity for the Iranian people to stand up against the regime.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they carried out attacks against dozens of targets in Israel on Friday night. Speaking to Reuters, one Iranian senior official said: “Our revenge has just started. They will pay a high price for killing our commanders, scientists and people.” The British foreign minister, David Lammy, said on Friday he spoke to his Iranian counterpart and urged calm following Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, which he described as a “unilateral act”. “I spoke to my Iranian counterpart today to urge restraint at this time, and calm. I recognise that this is a moment of grave peril in the Middle East,” he told Sky News. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered a separate address in which he said that Iranian armed forces would leave Israel “helpless”. Khamenei also said that Israel “will not remain unscathed” and that Tehran “will not go for half measures in its response”. Here are some images coming through the newswires from Israel and Iran: Israel’s assault on Iran demonstrates a ruthless combination of air power and intelligence – and a significant disparity between the two countries in a conflict that is likely to be a long one if the goal is to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear capability. Israel’s air force undertook waves of airstrikes, beginning at about 3am on Friday, aimed, briefings indicated, first at Iran’s military leaders and intelligence in Tehran, then switching to air defense batteries, missile launch sites and, above all, the critical facility at Natanz where uranium can be enriched to weapons grade. The initial goal appears to have been to smash Iran’s military chain of command, with the killing of Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s military – and Gen Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, killed alongside other senior members of the group. For the full analysis, click here: Iran’s UN ambassador said that 78 people were killed and 320 were wounded in Israel’s airstrikes on Iran. The death toll comes after Israel’s attacks across Iran which hit dozens of targets in and around Tehran including nuclear facilities and official headquarters. Among those killed by Israeli airstrikes include scientists and commanders. As reported by the Guardian’s Jason Burke and Deepa Parent, Iranians described chaotic scenes where they saw windows shaking and people screaming. “Traffic jams and clueless crowds are still trying to make sense of what’s happening,” witnesses told the Guardian, adding: “Smoke is still billowing from residential streets and there’s debris around homes. The sky is red and we fear there will be more attacks.” Oil and gold prices soared and stock markets tumbled after Israel’s attacks on Iran. The Guardian’s Mark Sweney and Joanna Partridge reports: The price of oil and gold has soared and stock markets have fallen after Israel’s strikes against targets in Iran. The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, the focal point of global oil production, prompted a sharp increase in wholesale prices. Brent crude surged by more than 7% after news of the attacks broke, briefly moving above $75 (£55) a barrel to its highest level since April. Stocks fell on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones dropping 1.8%, the S&P 500 falling 1.1% and the Nasdaq down 1.3%. Airline stocks, including Delta, United and American declined on fears that fuel costs could climb if there were issues with oil supply. For the full story, click here: An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said fewer than 100 missiles were fired in two waves from Iran at Israel. “Most of these rockets were intercepted or fell short,” IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media. “There are a limited number of buildings that were hit, some due to shrapnel from interception operations,” he added. Nuclear experts have said the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities from Israel’s initial wave of air strikes early on Friday appeared to be limited. Satellite imagery did not yet show significant damage to nuclear infrastructure, Reuters is reporting, citing several experts. According to David Albright at the Institute for Science and International Security: The first day was aimed at things that you would get through surprise – killing leadership, going after nuclear scientists, air defense systems, the ability to retaliate. “We can’t see any visible damage at Fordow or Isfahan. There was damage at Natanz,” said Albright, referring to Iranian nuclear sites. But “there’s no evidence that the underground site was destroyed”, he said. Albright noted that there may also have been drone strikes on tunnels to underground centrifuge plants and cyber attacks that did not leave visible traces. “In terms of visible damage, we don’t see much and we’ll see what happens tonight,” he said, adding that he believes Israel’s strikes were still in an early stage. The UK’s foreign secretary David Lammy said he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghch, on Friday to “urge restraint at this time and calm”. “Let’s step back. Let’s have restraint. Let’s return to diplomacy,” Lammy said, adding that he recognised that “this is a moment of grave peril in the Middle East”. According to Iranian state media, Araghchi told Lammy in the call that Tehran does not accept calls for restraint in the face of Israeli aggression. Iran’s response to the Israeli attacks will be “decisive and definite based on the United Nations charter”, Iranian TV quoted Araghchi as saying. Keir Starmer and Donald Trump held a phone call on Friday, during which they agreed that the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel should be resolved by “diplomacy and dialogue”. The UK and US leaders “discussed the military action in the Middle East overnight and agreed on the importance of diplomacy and dialogue”, according to a Downing Street spokesperson. Updating on his conversations with partners today, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s grave concerns about Iran’s nuclear programmes. The leaders looked forward to speaking again at the G7 in Canada next week. Iran’s airspace will remain closed until Saturday after Israel launched a large-scale attack that hit multiple cities, state media reported. According to the official Irna news agency: The Civil Aviation Organization ... has announced in aviation notices (NOTAM) that the country’s airspace will be closed until tomorrow, Saturday. The US military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, according to US officials. The US interceptions have so far been carried out by ground-based systems, Reuters is reporting, citing one of the officials. The official said fighter jets and warships had not been used so far. Both US air force fighter aircraft and destroyer-based missile defences have intercepted missiles in previous attacks, according to Associated Press. The Pentagon moved a number of military assets into the region in recent days, including navy destroyers to be positioned off the Israeli coast to help shoot down missiles and other aerial attacks expected after the Israelis launched their initial attack, NBC News is reporting, citing a US official. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has told the UN security council that the “above ground plant where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% uranium has been destroyed”. Grossi also said that radiological contamination is manageable with appropriate measures, as well as that there is radiological and chemical contamination inside facilities at Natanz. He added that there is no indication of attack on underground enrichment halls at Natanz but attacks on power supply may have damaged centrifuges. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the public is permitted to leave sheltered places following a fresh wave of retaliatory missiles flown over Israel from Iran. In an address on Saturday night, Netanyahu said that “the Iranian regime has never been weaker”, adding: “This is an opportunity for the Iranian people to stand up against the regime.” Netanyahu also directly addressed the Iranian public, saying: “I am with you, the Israeli people are with you.” Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said that Iran “crossed red lines by launching missiles towards Israeli civilian areas”, adding that “Tehran will pay a heavy price.” Iran’s latest wave of retaliatory missile attacks across Israel follows Israel’s aerial strikes on Iran which targeted nuclear facilities while killing commanders and scientists. Iran has launched retaliatory missiles at Israel. Projectiles were seen flying across Tel Aviv’s night sky and at least one evaded Israel’s air defence system to strike the ground: Israeli rescuers said that seven people were injured on Friday in the centre of the country, shortly after Iran fired a salvo of missiles at Israel, Reuters reports. Speaking on Israel’s Channel 12, Eli Bin, the spokesperson for the Magen David Adom rescue service, said that seven people were lightly injured in central Israel. Images on Channel 12 showed what appeared to be a building hit by a missile. An Israeli military spokesperson has denied Iranian media reports that an Israeli fighter jet was downed and that its pilot was detained, Reuters reports. Israel’s denial comes as Iran launched a fresh wave of retaliatory missile attacks over Israel on Saturday evening after Israel launched airstrikes across Iran which killed commanders and scientists. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they carried out attacks against dozens of targets in Israel on Friday night. Speaking to Reuters, one Iranian senior official said: “Our revenge has just started, they will pay a high price for killing our commanders, scientists and people.” The official added that “nowhere in Israel will be safe” and that “our revenge will be painful.” Iranian state TV is also reporting that at least one Israeli fighter jet was downed by air defense and that its pilot has been detained, Reuters reports. Israeli ambulance service is reporting seven lightly wounded people in Ramat Gan next to Tel Aviv, the Guardian’s chief Middle East correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison reports. Emergency teams are searching seven places where there were reports of impact in the Tel Aviv area. Additionally, it is important to note that for the latest round of missiles, it is not the Iron Dome intercepting them as that system only catches attacks that are launched from 40km away. Instead, the latest missiles are being caught by Israel’s Arrow missile defense shield. Here are some images coming through Tel Aviv where missiles flown from Iran have been reported across the city: The Guardian’s chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, is reporting from Tel Aviv where there is a lot of air interceptions heard overhead. Haaretz is also reporting over a hundred missiles being flown from Iran, as well as sirens being activated across Israel. Israel’s military has identified missiles being launched from Iran and towards the territory of Israel, Reuters reports. The Israeli military said that its defense systems are operating to intercept “the threat”, adding that the public has been instructed to “enter a protected space and remain there until further notice”. Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke to both Iran’s president and Israel’s prime minister on Friday in separate telephone conversations. In a statement to Reuters, the Kremlin said that Putin told Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian that Russia “condemns the actions of Israel taken in violation of the UN Charter” and expressed condolences for those killed. Meanwhile, speaking to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Putin said that he “stressed the importance of a return to the process of talks and resolution of all issues concerning Iran’s nuclear programme strictly through political and diplomatic means.” The Kremlin statement said Russia would remain in close contact with both Iran and Israel. Donald Trump said that his administration “knew everything” about Israel’s plan to attack Iran, according to a new interview he gave Reuters on Friday. “We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out,” Trump said. “They can still work out a deal, however, it’s not too late,” he added. Trump also said he had given Iran 60 days to come to an agreement, “and today is 61”. Iran has balked at the US insistence that it give up uranium enrichment. We knew enough that we gave Iran 60 days to make a deal and today is 61, right? So, you know, we knew everything.” Trump said it was unclear if Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes on the country, saying: “Nobody knows. It was a very devastating hit.” British foreign minister David Lammy said on Friday he spoke to his Iranian counterpart and urged calm following Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, which he described as a “unilateral act”. “I spoke to my Iranian counterpart today to urge restraint at this time, and calm. I recognise that this is a moment of grave peril in the Middle East,” he told Sky News. “We are advising against travel to Israel at this time,” he added. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei is delivering a separate address in which he said that Iranian armed forces will leave Israel “helpless”. Khamenei also said that Israel “will not remain unscathed” and that Tehran “will not go for half measures in its response”. French president Emmanuel Macron is speaking on the latest Israeli airstrikes in Iran, saying that France did “not take part” in the attacks. Macron, Reuters reports, added that Iran “carries heavy responsibility in the destabilization of the region”. He also said: “We can’t live in a world where Iran has nuclear weapons,” adding that “France calls on restraints from all parties” and that he “regrets Iran did not take overtures from the US”. It’s nearly 8pm in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and nearly 8.30pm in Tehran. Here is a round-up of today’s key events so far: There have been reports of more strikes on Iran, with witnesses reporting hearing explosions in Tehran province. “There were reports of explosions heard in the west of Tehran province,” in the cities of Shahriar and Malard and around the neighbourhood of Chitgar in Tehran city, state news agency IRNA reported, while Mehr agency reported a blast in Pakdasht southeast of the capital. Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport remains closed. The Israeli military said it was working on intercepting a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel. President Donald Trump said “we kew everything” about Israel’s strikes on Iran. Benjamin Neetanyahu also said that the US had advanced warning of its attack on Iran. Trump told Reuters in a phone interview that it was unclear if Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes on the country and said he is not concerned about a regional war breaking out as a result of Israel’s strikes. The newly appointed commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Pakpour, threatened to open “the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks that killed his predecessor Hossein Salami. “In retribution for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime,” Pakpour said of Israel in a message carried by Iran’s state news agency IRNA. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will next week convene an extraordinary meeting of its board of governors at the request of Iran after Israeli strikes on the country, diplomats said. The head of the IAEA said that radiation levels outside Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site following Israeli strikes “remained unchanged”. An Iranian news outlet close to the government says two explosions were heard near the Fordow underground nuclear site, AP reports, as Israel’s strikes on Iran appear to be continuing. The facility is about 20 miles north-east of the city Qom. Iran’s Mehr news agency also reported a strike in the central city of Isfahan. Reuters reports the Israeli military is working on intercepting a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel, as air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, citing an Israeli military statement. Agence France-Presse reports several explosions were heard in Tehran and surrounding areas, citing Iranian state media, more than 12 hours after a massive wave of Israeli attacks on the country. “There were reports of explosions heard in the west of Tehran province,” in the cities of Shahriar and Malard and around the neighbourhood of Chitgar in Tehran city, state news agency IRNA reported, while Mehr agency reported a blast in Pakdasht southeast of the capital. Civilian witnesses told the Associated Press they heard what sounded like loud explosions in neighbourhoods in the capital’s east, west and centre, while an AP journalist in the city’s north also heard a blast. Iranian air defences also shot down an Israeli drone in the vicinity of the country’s Fordow nuclear facility, Iranian media reported. Earlier on Friday, Iranian media reported two explosions heard in the area of the nuclear site. The US State Department informed a number of regional allies in the Middle East of Israel’s looming strike on Iran hours before the attack took place, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, Reuters reports. In a diplomatic note sent out on Thursday afternoon, the State Department confirmed that the Israeli attack was set to take place late on Thursday. Qatar was among the countries which received the heads up. Washington was not involved in Israel’s operation and was not providing any support, the note said, adding that Donald Trump has been very clear on his desire for peace in the region but at the same time has been firm that Tehran cannot be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Israel has closed all checkpoints to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, AP reports, citing a military official. The move sealed off entry and exit to the territory, meaning that Palestinians could not leave without special coordination. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military recommendations. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected “several waves of Iranian attacks” in response to Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic, saying he had initially planned an attack in April, AFP reports. “We expect to be exposed to several waves of Iranian attacks,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, after Israel struck military and nuclear sites in Iran in the early hours of Friday. “It was necessary to act and I set the implementation date for the end of April 2025,” Netanyahu said. “For various reasons, it did not work out.” An Israeli strike early today destroyed a military base in northwest Iran, near the Iraqi border, killing one soldier, AFP reports, citing Iran’s Tasnim news agency. The news agency said a border guard base in Sardasht “was targeted in a missile strike by the Zionist regime, resulting in the destruction of the facility” and “the martyrdom” of a soldier. The US state department has issued a security warning instructing US citizens not to travel to Iran for any reason and to depart Iran immediately. “US citizens in Iran face serious, increasing dangers due to rising regional tensions,” the warning reads. My colleague Leonie has more on the US politics blog here. President Donald Trump has said “we kew everything” about Israel’s strikes on Iran. Israel’s prime minister said a short while ago that the US had advanced warning of its attack on Iran. Trump also told Reuters in a phone interview that it was unclear if Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes on the country. Trump told Reuters the US still has nuclear talks planned with Iran on Sunday, but that he is not sure if they will still take place. He said it was not too late for Iran to make a deal. “I tried to save Iran humiliation and death,” Trump said. He also said he is not concerned about a regional war breaking out as a result of Israel’s strikes. The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA said that radiation levels outside Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site following Israeli strikes “remained unchanged”. “The type of radioactive contamination present inside the facility, mainly alpha particles, can be managed with appropriate protective measures,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi wrote on X. The US State Department has warned of missiles, drones or rockets flying over Iraq in a security warning that said Iraq has suspended air traffic at all airports and closed its airspace, Reuters reports. “Due to regional events, there are indications there may be missiles, drones, or rockets flying over Iraqi airspace. In the event of such an incident seek overhead cover and shelter in place. Do not expose yourself to falling debris,” the department said in a security alert. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel had informed the US about its plans to attack Iran before carrying them out. “I leave the American position to the Americans. We updated them ahead of time. They knew about the attack. What will they do now? I leave that to President (Donald) Trump. He makes his decisions independently,” Netanyahu said in a recorded video message. “I am not going to speak for him (Trump). He does that very convincingly and assertively. He said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, they cannot have enrichment capabilities.” Egyptian authorities have detained or deported more foreign nationals seeking to join a pro-Palestinian march to Gaza, Reuters reports. Hundreds of international activists arrived in Egypt this week for the Global March to Gaza, an initiative aimed at pressuring Israel to end its blockade of the enclave. Groups of foreign participants were being held at checkpoints, and sit-ins had begun at two locations on the road leading to the Rafah crossing, organisers said. They said police were stopping vehicles about 30 km (20 miles) from Ismailia, close to the Sinai peninsula, en route to Rafah, nearly 300 km away. Police were forcing passengers with non-Egyptian passports to disembark, they said. Security sources confirmed that at least 88 individuals had been detained or deported from Cairo airport and other locations. Three airport sources told Reuters on Thursday at least 73 foreign nationals had been deported on a flight to Istanbul after authorities said they violated entry protocols, and that about 100 more were at the airport awaiting deportation. French foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France was determined to recognise a Palestinian state despite what was happening in the region, referring to the military attack Israel launched earlier on Iran. Donald Trump told NBC News on Friday that Iran missed an opportunity to make a nuclear deal with the United States, but it may now have another chance to strike an agreement. “They missed the opportunity to make a deal. Now, they may have another opportunity. We’ll see,” Trump was quoted as saying by NBC. Trump told NBC that Iranian representatives were calling him to suggest they still want a deal. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the UN security council emergency meeting on Friday over Israel’s strikes on Iran will take place at 7pm GMT (8pm in the UK, which is currently on BST). The newly appointed commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Pakpour, threatened to open “the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks that killed his predecessor Hossein Salami. “In retribution for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime,” Pakpour said of Israel in a message carried by Iran’s state news agency IRNA. A United Nations conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia aimed at forging a plan towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians has been postponed after Israel launched a military attack on Iran, two sources told Reuters on Friday. A western diplomatic source in Riyadh said the Saudi-French conference would be postponed, partly because of the strikes on Iran. A second source familiar with the situation told Reuters some delegations from the Middle East would not, or could not, come because of the developments. France and Saudi Arabia had planned to host the high-level gathering between 17-20 June in New York, aiming to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security. President Emmanuel Macron, who was expected to attend on 18 June, has previously suggested France could recognise a Palestinian state in Israeli-occupied territories at the conference, a move opposed by Israel. US president Donald Trump’s administration sent a diplomatic cable earlier this week to discourage governments around the world from attending the conference, according to a US cable seen by Reuters. Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. France’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment either, said Reuters. Macron is scheduled to hold a press conference later on Friday, where he is expected to talk about the Israeli strike on Iran and the situation in the Middle East. Iran’s foreign ministry has summoned the ambassador of Switzerland, which represents US interests in Tehran, state media said on Friday. “During the meeting, the Islamic Republic of Iran conveyed its deep outrage and strong protest over this act of aggression by Israel and the support extended to it by the United States,” said the official news agency IRNA, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Spanish government has called for “restraint” from Israel and Iran, in a statement on Friday. It also called for an “immediate end to the violence”. The statement read: The Spanish government calls for restraint from all parties and an immediate end to the violence. Spain reiterates its commitment to stability in the Middle East and will continue working with its partners for lasting peace in the region. Spain’s embassies in Iran and in the countries of the region remain fully operational to assist Spaniards in any eventuality. Masoud Pezeshkian, responding to a series of Israeli attacks overnight, promised harsh and decisive action. Israel said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon. Pezeshkian’s speech has been subtitled in English in the video below. The Guardian graphics team have shared this map that shows where the Israeli airstrikes have been reported in Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will next week convene an extraordinary meeting of its board of governors at the request of Iran after Israeli strikes on the country, diplomats told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday. The meeting will begin at 10am (8am GMT/9am BST) on Monday at the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters, two diplomats told AFP. Israeli strikes on Friday killed at least eight people and injured 12 others in Iran’s north-western Tabriz city and its surroundings, the provincial governor told Iranian news agency ISNA. “At least eight people … were killed following the attacks of the Zionist regime,” said Majid Farshi, governor of East Azerbaijan province, of which Tabriz is the capital. UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that she agrees with Israel’s strikes on Iran and that the UK “should not be confused about whose side we’re on” as she spoke to reporters at the Scottish Conservative conference in Edinburgh this afternoon. Badenoch said: We cannot have Iran getting nuclear weapons. Iran has tried to carry out terrorist attacks on our soil. Let’s be very clear, Iran getting nuclear weapons would be destructive for the UK, so yes [I agree with Israel’s attacks]. Asked whether she disagreed with calls by prime minister Keir Starmer to de-escalate the conflict, she said: Things do need to de-escalate, but if Israel sees Iran getting nuclear weapons, I don’t think he [Starmer] should sit back and put his feet up and say, ‘well, we’re de-escalating’, because the country that will escalate is Iran, and that would be absolutely disastrous for the entire world. This is not an area where we should be confused about whose side we’re on, and we can’t just assume that warm words are going to stop Iran from doing something that would destroy our way of life. Israel’s spy agency says the video below shows two agents on Iranian soil deploying precision attack systems “designed to destroy Iranian air defence systems”. It is not possible to independently verify the date or location of the videos. Earlier we reported on the UN security council planning to meet later on Friday over Israel’s strikes on Iran. Reuters reports that Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi requested the meeting in a letter to the 15-member body, saying Israel “has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished”. “Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in article 51 of the UN charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts,” Araghchi wrote. Article 51 of the UN charter covers the individual or collective right of states to self-defence against armed attack. “These outrageous actions represent not only a grave violation of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a sovereign UN member state, but also constitute acts of aggression and war crimes,” Araghchi wrote. A loud blast was heard Friday afternoon near a military airbase in Iran’s western Hamedan province, state media reported, after a major Israeli attack on the country. “A few hours ago, a loud blast was heard near Hamedan,” more than 300km (186 miles) from the capital Tehran, the IRNA state news agency said, adding that “it was heard near the Nojeh airbase”. Residents of south Lebanon reported hearing explosions along the Lebanese-Israel border and videos showed black smoke in what appeared to be the Israeli iron dome intercepting projectiles. Israeli air raid sirens were also activated in the northern cities of Metula, Kafr Jalaadi, Kiryat Shimona and seven other cities. It was unclear if the projectiles came from Lebanon or Iraq in the east. Videos showed pieces of intercepted drones falling from the sky on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah, while condemning the Israeli strikes against Iran, has told Reuters it will not initiate an attack against Israel. Much of the Iranian-backed militia’s military capabilities were demolished after the 13-month war it fought with Israel, which ended in November 2024. Many flights to Lebanon were cancelled and some residents fled the southern suburbs of Beirut, which has been a target of Israeli strikes in the past due to the presence of Hezbollah there. Israel’s military said sirens sounded in the country’s north on Friday, hours after Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). It was not immediately clear what triggered the sirens in several communities and areas near the border with Lebanon and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Thousands of Iranians have gathered to protest against Israel’s attack on their country. Here are some of the images coming though via the newswires: Iraq filed a complaint on Friday with the UN security council over Israel’s “violation of Iraqi airspace” in a major attack on Iran, Baghdad’s foreign ministry said, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). “These practices constitute a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” the ministry said, calling on “the security council to assume its responsibilities” and act to “prevent the recurrence of such violations”. Italy’s foreign minister called on his Iranian and Israeli counterparts on Friday to come back to the negotiating table after Israeli airstrikes hit military and nuclear facilities in Iran, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Foreign minister Antonio Tajani spoke on the phone on Friday with Iran’s Abbas Araghchi after earlier speaking with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar, the Italian ministry said in a statement. During the conversation with Araghchi, “Tajani called on Iran to avoid a military escalation in the conflict with Israel, a dynamic that would be extremely dangerous for the entire region,” the ministry said. “We need to return to negotiation and diplomacy as soon as possible,” Tajani told his Iranian counterpart, saying it was the same message he gave Sa’ar earlier Friday, according to the statement. Earlier on Friday, Tajani also spoke with the general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and the foreign minister of Oman, Badr al-Busaidi. The thousands of aircraft that fly between Europe, North America and Asia moved away from Iranian airspace on 13 June after Israel struck the country with missiles. Aircraft moving east or west through the region instead flew over Saudi Arabia, then south of Israel and over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The Gulf region is home to two leading transcontinental hubs: Qatar and Dubai. Since the closure of Russian airspace to many airlines after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the region has become one of the main pinch points in global air transport between the eastern and western hemispheres. The Guardian’s senior international correspondent Julian Borger has reported from Jerusalem the morning after an unprecedented Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities For the latest episode of the Today in Focus podcast, Borger has spoken to Michael Safi about whether the latest events mean we are on the brink of a regional war. Reuters, citing Iran’s Nournews, reports that 78 people have been killed and 329 injured by Israel’s attacks on residential areas in Tehran. The UN security council will meet later on Friday over Israel’s strikes on Iran, diplomats said, at the request of Tehran. According to CNN, US president Donald Trump will speak with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. More details to follow … German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer have spoken on the phone to discuss Israel’s attacks on Iran, a German government spokesperson said on Friday. “They discussed today’s Israeli strikes against the Iranian nuclear programme and Iran’s military response and agreed to remain in close contact,” the spokesperson added, according to Reuters. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Friday called for de-escalation after the Israeli strikes on Iran. After convening a special national defence and security meeting in Paris, Macron wrote in English on social media: To avoid jeopardising the stability of the entire region, I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to de-escalate. He said: France has repeatedly condemned Iran’s ongoing nuclear programme and has taken all appropriate diplomatic measures in response. In this context, France reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure its security. He added: France stands ready to work with all its partners to push for de-escalation in the near and Middle East. On Friday morning, Macron spoke to several leaders including Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, the US president, Donald Trump, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. Macron is expected to speak to the media late on Friday afternoon to comment further. Hamas said Iran, its strategic ally, was “paying the price” for supporting militant groups in Gaza in their decades-long struggle against Israel, after Israel launched large-scale attacks on Friday against Iran, reports Reuters. Hamas leaders have repeatedly thanked Iran for its military and financial support to the group in its fight against Israel, including during the ongoing war that erupted in October 2023. “Iran is today paying the price for its steadfast positions in support of Palestine and its resistance, and its adherence to its independent national decision,” Hamas said in a statement, according to Reuters. Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Ubaida said in a post on Telegram on Friday that the group would stand by Iran in its conflict against Israel. “The Zionist enemy is completely deluded if it thinks that these treacherous strikes can undermine the fronts of resistance or stabilise the pillars of this fragile entity in the region,” he said. US president Donald Trump said on Friday he had given Iran a 60-day ultimatum on a nuclear deal before Israel’s strikes, but added Tehran now has a second chance. “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Israel has launched an overnight attack on Iran after claiming Tehran was building nuclear warheads. The country said it targeted “dozens” of targets including Iran’s nuclear facilities, military commanders and scientists. Iranian state media said the strikes hit the headquarters of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and killed its leader, Gen Hossein Salami. The video below shows the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Tehran, including smouldering buildings in residential areas. The UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch referenced Israel’s attack on Iran in her keynote address to the Scottish Conservative conference in Edinburgh this lunchtime, but only to attack Labour on energy and defence policy. “The strikes overnight in the Middle East remind us of how vital it is that we can rely on our own energy and natural resources,” she told delegates, and went on to accuse UK Labour of “killing the oil and gas industry”, calling for the energy profits levy to be scrapped and the ban on new oil and gas licences to be lifted. She said that she had not agreed with the former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak when he introduced the levy but now “Labour is doubling down on what we got wrong.” She also attacked Labour on defence spending, saying: As our world gets ever more dangerous, whether in the Middle East or Ukraine, it becomes even harder to understand why this week Labour didn’t use the spending review to get up to 3% on defence spending. Israel is shutting its embassies around the world and has urged citizens to stay alert and not display Jewish or Israeli symbols in public places, statements posted on embassy websites said on Friday after Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran. According to Reuters, the statements said Israel would not be providing consular services and urged citizens to cooperate with local security services if faced with hostile activity. No timeframe was given for how long the embassies would be closed. A person picking up the phone at the embassy in Berlin gave no further details, reports Reuters. “In light of recent developments, Israeli missions around the world will be closed and consular services will not be provided,” the statement said. German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, said Germany was stepping up protection of Jewish and Israeli sites. Visible security was increased outside the Great Synagogue of Stockholm, with a police van and car parked near the building, a Reuters witness said. Russia “strongly condemned” Israel’s military action against its ally Iran, describing it as a violation of the UN charter. “Unprovoked strikes against a sovereign state, its citizens, peaceful cities, and nuclear energy infrastructure are unacceptable,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement “Israel’s attacks have undermined and set back efforts to resolve the situation surrounding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Moscow added. While the Kremlin was expected to condemn Israel’s attack on Iran, analysts believe Moscow is unlikely to rush to Tehran’s defence – despite Iran having supplied short-range ballistic missiles and drones to Russia. Although the two countries signed a major military cooperation treaty earlier this year, the deal falls short of including a mutual defence clause, and Moscow is under no obligation to provide military assistance to Iran. “There is little Russia can or is willing to do for Iran,”, said Hanna Notte, a Berlin-based expert on Russian foreign policy Notte added that Russia has successfully localised production of Iranian Shahed drones, reducing its reliance on Iranian battlefield support in Ukraine. Observers in Moscow also suggested that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could bring new potential benefits for the Kremlin – including a much-needed spike in energy prices, already seen on Friday morning, and the prospect of US military resources being diverted to the region, potentially limiting the flow of American weapons to Ukraine. “The conclusion: a war between Israel and Iran would help Russia’s military succeed in Ukraine,” wrote pro-Kremlin commentator Sergei Markov. US president Donald Trump on Friday said the Israeli attack on Iran has been “excellent” and warned there was much more to come, according to an interview with ABC News. “I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. A lot more,” Trump was quoted as saying by an ABC reporter on X, according to Reuters. Greece has called an urgent meeting of its defence and foreign policy council, KYSEA, amid fears of a wider regional conflagration. With the country close to the Middle East, officials and diplomats have been quick to voice concerns of the Israeli strikes against Iran triggering a broader conflict that would almost certainly affect the tourist-dependent state. “It’s the moment we’ve all feared,” said one well placed diplomat. The meeting, which comes amid rising anger over Israel’s action in Gaza – testified by the amount of anti-Israeli graffiti in Athens’ historic centre – will be chaired by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Greek foreign ministry announced it had also activated a crisis management unit for Greeks in Israel and Iran, advising citizens in Israel to remain in secure locations close to shelters. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, calling it a “clear provocation” and warning that the government of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was attempting to drag the region into disaster, Reuters reports. “The attacks of Netanyahu and his massacre network, which are setting our entire region and the world on fire, must be prevented,” Erdoğan said in a post on X, adding that Ankara was closely monitoring developments in the region. Iran has now confirmed that the Israeli strikes killed Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s missile program, according to AP. The Israeli military said Iran’s drone force commander, and the aerial command chief were also killed in the strike. “As part of the combined opening strike, Israeli air force fighter jets struck the command centre where the commander of the IRGC’s air force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, was located along with other senior officials.” The leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, and the chief of staff of its armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, were also confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said that most of the damage from Israeli air strikes targeting its underground uranium enrichment facility at Natanz was at ground level, AFP reports. “Most of the damage is on the surface level,” said the organisation’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, adding that there had been “no casualties” at the facility where the enrichment centrifuges are housed underground. Reuters has reported an Israeli military spokesperson as saying the strikes had damaged the Natanz facility '“significantly”. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Friday condemned a wave of Israeli strikes on Iran, saying the attacks violated international law and fuelled regional insecurity, reports AFP. The strikes, which left key military commanders and nuclear scientists dead, “constitute a clear violation of the fundamental principles of international law, particularly national sovereignty”, Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid posted in a statement on X. “The continuation of such tension-provoking actions has made the situation in the region even more fragile and worrying,” he wrote. He said the Taliban authorities, which do not recognise Israel, called for all stakeholders to “address this issue and prevent the spread of further insecurity and instability in the region”. Iran is one of the few countries to have built strong diplomatic links with the Taliban authorities since they took control of Afghanistan in 2021, though Tehran has not officially recognised their government. Reuters is reporting that at least 20 senior Iranian commanders, including the head of the revolutionary guards missile programme Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran, citing two regional sources. European leaders have reacted to Israel’s strikes on Iran. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called the fresh outbreak of violence in the Middle East “deeply alarming.” “Europe urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate immediately and refrain from retaliation. A diplomatic resolution is now more urgent than ever, for the sake of the region’s stability and global security,” she said in a post on the Bluesky social media platform. German chancellor Friedrich Merz called on both sides to “refrain from steps that could lead to a further escalation and destabilise the whole region.” Merz, who said Netanyahu informed him about the military operation in a phone call this morning, said in a statement that Germany is ready to use “all available diplomatic means” to exert influence on the parties to the conflict. He said that “the aim must remain that Iran not develop any nuclear weapons.” Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said he has urged Israel’s foreign minister in a call to avoid escalation. He added that he would make the same request to Iran’s foreign minister when they speak later today. “I will insist on support for diplomacy,’’ Tajani told SKY TG24. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has accused the US of providing “approval, coordination, and direct cover-up” for Israel’s strikes, adding that Israel “has crossed all red lines, believing that by doing so, it will change the equations.” In a statement, the group issued condolences to Tehran for the leaders who were killed, but did not threaten to join in the retaliation, AP reports. Commercial airlines have been cancelling flights in the region. Air France said on Friday it was suspending its flights to and From Tel Aviv “until further notice” after the closure of Israeli airspace following Israel’s strikes on Iran. “Air France is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East in real time,” a spokesperson for the French airline told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that “the safety of its customers and crews is its absolute priority.” Germany’s Lufthansa has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until 31 July and to Tehran “until further notice”. A spokeswoman for the group said that Lufthansa services would avoid Israeli, Iraqi and Iranian air space “for the time being”. Italy ITA, part-owned by Lufthansa, said it was cancelling flights to Tel Aviv until 31 July. US president Donald Trump has urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform that there was still time for the country to prevent further conflict with Israel: “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to “just do it,” but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All! Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the Chatham House thinktank has provided some analysis of Israel’s strikes on Iran: The Israeli government has launched a highly provocative and strategically timed strike against Iran, aiming to achieve three primary objectives: to eliminate senior commanders and disrupt Iran’s operational leadership, to inflict damage on its nuclear program, and to weaken its defensive capabilities. Beyond these immediate military goals, it is apparent that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also seeks to sabotage any remaining diplomatic pathways toward a revived nuclear agreement and perhaps to incite internal unrest within Iran. The prime minister also has his domestic motivations. Far from being a preventive action, this strike risks triggering a broader regional escalation and may inadvertently bolster the Islamic Republic’s domestic and international legitimacy. Once again, Iran has been exposed, and its response options are constrained by its desire to avoid a full-scale war. Nonetheless, the regime must retaliate to reassert deterrence and prevent further strikes. Iran has already launched a limited military response and cancelled the scheduled diplomatic talks with the Trump administration that were to be held on Sunday in Muscat. Given the unprecedented scale and nature of the Israeli attack including strikes across Iranian territory and the targeting of civilians and senior officials, Tehran is likely to take further retaliatory steps. These may include accelerating its nuclear program, suspending all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and potentially withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). A fresh round of explosions was heard in northwestern Iran, state television reported, after Israel carried out a wave of strikes on multiple cities. “A few minutes ago, new explosions were heard in East Azerbaijan (province in Iran),” the broadcaster said, as the Tasnim news agency said an earlier wave of strikes had hit 10 sites in the province, killing at least three people. At the same time Israeli media is reporting Israel has launched fresh strikes on Tabriz military airport, located in East Azerbaijan province. The Russian foreign ministry has said that Israeli strikes on Iran and its nuclear facilities were unprovoked and in breach of the United Nations charter. “Unprovoked military strikes against a sovereign UN member state, its citizens, peaceful cities, and nuclear energy infrastructure are categorically unacceptable,” the ministry said in a statement, without referencing its own ongoing invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine. Iran said Israel’s strikes on its military and nuclear facilities on Friday were a “declaration of war” and called on the UN Security Council to act. In a letter to the United Nations, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a “declaration of war” and “called on the Security Council to immediately address this issue”, the ministry said, AFP reports. A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was wounded during Israel’s attack, Iran’s state media reported. “Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to the supreme leader... was injured in today’s attack by the Zionist regime,” according to state TV, AFP reports. Most of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards air force leadership were eliminated during Israel’s strikes on Iran – they were convening at an underground headquarters, the Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said, Reuters reports. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian has posted a statement on X (translated below via Google so accuracy may not be 100%). He is due to deliver a speech at some point today on the strikes and Iran’s response. “As soon as the Zionist regime’s criminal attack occurred, the president and the government team have taken over the management of the scene, and a special meeting of the government board has been held in this regard; Masoud Pezeshkian will soon speak to the people. God willing, the Zionist regime will regret its action today.” Iranians reacted to Israeli strikes with anger and fear, Reuters reports, with some urging retaliation and others worried the conflict would spell more hardship for a nation worn down by crises. “I woke up to deafening explosion. People on my street rushed out of their homes in panic, we were all terrified,” said Marziyeh, 39, from the city of Natanz, which is home to one of Iran’s nuclear sites and where explosions were reported. “I am deeply worried about my children’s safety if this situation escalates,” she said. Masoud Mousavi, 51, a retired bank employee said he waited for the exchange offices to open, “so I can buy Turkish Lira and take my family there by land since airspace is closed”. “I am against any war. Any strike that kills innocent people. I will stay in Turkey with my family until this situation is over,” he said from Shiraz. Two money changers in Tehran said they were busier than usual, as people rushed to buy foreign currency following the attack. But one of them said people were not too panicked. “We have been through so much already. I don’t support Israel’s attack and I understand that Iran’s leaders feel the need to retaliate,” said retired teacher Fariba Besharati, 64, who lives with her children and two grandchildren in Tabriz. “But what about us? Haven’t we endured enough suffering?” Ali, whose father was killed during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, said he was ready to sacrifice his life for the Islamic Republic. “I am a member of (volunteer militia) Basij. I will fight and die for our right to a nuclear programme. Israel and its ally America cannot take it away from us with these attacks,” he said from the holy city of Qom by phone. All Israeli pilots involved in the strikes on Iran have returned safely home, an Israeli military official said, Reuters reports. The official, speaking to a group of foreign reporters on condition of anonymity, said the air force had launched simultaneous strikes on multiple targets, including Iranian ballistic missiles that were pointed towards Israel. “We have already achieved a lot,” he said. Israel was prepared for the confrontation to continue over several days, depending in part on how Iran responded, he said, adding that Iran had already launched more than 100 drones towards Israel, many of which had already been intercepted. Israeli security officials say the country’s Mossad spy agency smuggled weapons into Iran ahead o strikes that were used to target its defences from within, AP reports, citing two security sources. The two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The news wire could not independently confirm their claims and there was no official comment. The officials said a base for launching explosive drones was established inside Iran and that the drones were activated during the attack to target missile launchers at an Iranian base near Tehran. They said Israel had also smuggled precision weapons into central Iran and positioned them near surface-to-air missile systems. They said it also deployed strike systems on vehicles. Both were activated as the strikes began, in order to target Iran’s defences, the officials said. Israel has announced that citizens are no longer required to stay near protected spaces nationwide, a precaution it imposed in anticipation of an Iranian response to Israel’s strikes on Iran. “End of the need to stay near protected space,” the military’s home front command said in a new guideline issued to citizens. Earlier on Friday it had ordered Israelis to seek refuge in shelters as the military launched a widespread attack on Iran. Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz was damaged in an Israeli attack on Friday, the country’s atomic energy organisation said in a statement, but investigations have not shown any radioactive or chemical contamination outside the site. “The attack has damaged several parts of the facility. Investigations are ongoing to assess the extent of damages,” the statement said. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday he was ready to travel to Iran to assess the situation there after Israel carried out widespread military strikes that hit the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz. In a statement to a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors, Grossi said the other main enrichment centre in Iran, Fordow, was not hit and neither was another nuclear facility in Esfahan, citing Iranian authorities. There are no elevated radiation levels at Natanz, he added. According to Reuters, Grossi said in his statement: I have indicated to the respective authorities my readiness to travel at the earliest to assess the situation and ensure safety, security and non-proliferation in Iran. He did not say what the extent of the damage at Natanz was or what parts of the site were hit. The site includes a vast underground uranium enrichment plant and a smaller, above-ground pilot enrichment plant. Iran is enriching to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade, at the pilot plant, but it is producing smaller quantities of that material there than at Fordow, a site dug into a mountain that military experts have said would be difficult for Israel to destroy through bombardment. “Despite the current military actions and heightened tensions, it is clear that the only sustainable path forward – for Iran, for Israel, the entire region, and the international community – is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy to ensure peace, stability, and cooperation,” Grossi said. Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, said it had cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran after Israel launched the strikes. Several flights scheduled for Friday and one Tehran flight on Saturday were listed as cancelled on the airline’s website, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) airports have warned of disruption, with Dubai posting on X that “some flights at @DXB and DWC – Al Maktoum international have been cancelled or delayed due to airspace closures over Iran, Iraq, and Syria”. Abu Dhabi airport warned “flight disruptions are expected through today [Friday]“ as a result of the Israeli strikes. Earlier on Friday, Jordan and Iraq, which lie between Israel and Iran, announced they had closed their airspace and grounded all flights after Israel’s strikes. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi on Friday called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation in response to Israeli attacks on Iran overnight. Grossi also said on Friday that nuclear facilities “must never be attacked”. “This development is deeply concerning … I reiterate that any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond,” Grossi said in a statement to board members, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Earlier, Iran sharply criticised the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing it of “silence” over Israel’s strikes on its nuclear facilities and scientists. In a statement, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said it considered the “silence” from the IAEA “as a form of cooperation with the Zionist regime,” adding that the Israeli attack was a “defeat for the IAEA resulting from its unjustifiable shortcomings”. France’s foreign minister on Friday urged restraint after Israel pounded Iran in a series of air raids, striking 100 targets including nuclear and military sites as well as killing the armed forces’ chief of staff. “We call on all sides to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation that could undermine regional stability,” Jean-Noël Barrot said on X. Iran has gradually broken away from its commitments under the nuclear deal it struck with world powers including the United States and France in 2015. The landmark deal provided Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic programme, but it fell apart after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States during US president Donald Trump’s first term in 2018. Turkey on Friday urged Israel to stop “aggressive actions” after a wave of strikes on Iran that comes at a time of negotiations over the Islamic republic’s disputed nuclear programme. “Israel must put an immediate end to its aggressive actions that could lead to further conflicts,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Spain’s leftwing deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, has called for an “urgent de-escalation” after the Israeli strikes on Iran. “From the genocide in Gaza to the bombing of Iran: Netanyahu is dragging the world towards an escalation of war,” she wrote on Bluesky on Friday morning. Díaz added: We call for an urgent de-escalation, for the respect for international law, for immediate sanctions against the Israeli regime and for a multilateral route toward a just and lasting peace for all people. Defence minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would “eliminate” its foes after it carried out airstrikes on Iran targeting military and nuclear sites, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The precise targeting of senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian military, and nuclear scientists – all of whom were involved in advancing the plan to destroy Israel – sends a strong and clear message: those who work toward Israel’s destruction will be eliminated,” Katz said in a statement. He further warned that Iran “will pay an increasingly heavy price the longer it continues its aggressive actions” against Israel. In an earlier statement, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “must await a severe punishment”, adding: By God’s will, the powerful hand of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic will not let it [Israel] go unpunished. In the enemy’s attacks, several commanders and scientists were martyred. Their successors and colleagues will immediately carry on their duties, God willing. With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself – and it will undoubtedly receive it. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed German chancellor Friedrich Merz about Israel’s attack on Iran in a phone call on Friday morning, Merz said in a statement, according to Reuters. The statement said that Israel has a right to defend itself and Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, but Merz called on both sides to refrain from escalation. It was not immediately clear whether Israel had given Germany a warning of the attack on Iran before it happened, as the Spiegel magazine reported on Friday. Nato secretary general Mark Rutte on Friday said it was “crucial” for allies of Israel to work to de-escalate tensions, after Israel struck 100 targets in Iran, including Tehran’s nuclear and military sites. “I think it is now crucial for many allies, including the United States, to work, as we speak, to de-escalate. I know that they are doing that and I think that is now the first order of the day,” Rutte told journalists at a press conference in Stockholm, noting it was a “unilateral” action by Israel, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Israeli Mossad commandos led a series of covert operations deep inside Iran leading up to Israel’s strikes on Friday, an Israeli security source told Reuters. Those operations included deploying precision-guided weapons in open areas near Iranian surface-to-air missile systems sites, advanced technology used against Iran’s air defence systems and the establishment of an attack-drone base near Teheran, the security source said. The Guardian has been unable to independently verify the report. Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia said on Friday they were moving their planes out of the country, hours after Israel launched widespread strikes against Iran and braced for retaliation. The planes were flown without passengers, said a spokesperson for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, which on Friday closed until further notice, reports Reuters. Israir said it was evacuating and relocating its aircraft from the airport, adding this was part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days. El Al said it was moving aircraft out of Israel “to our destinations” and Arkia declined to say where they were moving, added the news agency. According to Reuters, flight tracking data showed a number of planes leaving Tel Aviv on Friday morning local time. A number of Israir flights went to Cyprus and several El Al aircraft were flown to airports in Europe, Flightradar24 data showed. Separately, an AJet source told Reuters that the airline had cancelled flights to Iran, Iraq and Jordan until Monday morning. The source said that AJet, a Turkish Airlines subsidiary, will operate flights to Lebanon only during daylight hours. It plans to operate flights to elsewhere in the Middle East including flying over Iraq without using the affected airspace, the source added. Qatar Airways said on Friday it had cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq after a wave of strikes by Israel on the Islamic republic. “Qatar Airways has temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to [the] current situation in the region,” the airline said in a statement after the strikes targeting military and nuclear facilities in Iran, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Turkey’s foreign ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on Iran, saying it could lead to wider conflict and accusing the country of not wanting issues to be resolved through diplomatic means. Air raid sirens sounded over Jordan’s capital Friday as Iranian drones were inbound to target Israel. Jordanian state media said the country’s air force is intercepting missiles and drones in its air space. State news agency quoted an unnamed senior military official as saying that the interceptions were carried out based on military assessments indicating that the missiles and drones were likely to fall within Jordanian territory, including populated areas, posing a potential threat to civilian safety. The official added that the Jordan Armed Forces are operating “around the clock to defend the country’s borders by land, sea, and air and will not allow any violation of Jordanian airspace under any circumstances”. The Israeli military said it was intercepting drones outside Israeli territory. Two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that more than 100 drones launched from Iran toward Israel were tracked crossing Iraqi airspace. Residents of Iraq’s Diyala province, which borders Iran, reported hearing the sound of aircraft and explosions from strikes inside Iranian territory early Friday. Some later said they saw drones launched from Iran heading toward Israel. Amid reports of drones now being fired towards Israel, the airlines El Al and Arkia have said they are moving their aircraft out of the country. Earlier, low cost airline Israir said it was evacuating and relocating its aircraft from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, adding this was part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days. Israel’s military says it has begun intercepting Iranian drones. An Israeli official told Associated Press the interceptions are taking place outside of Israeli territory, but did not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement. This is a breaking development, we will bring you more when we have it… Iranian state television confirmed the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed in Israel’s strikes Friday morning. Genereal Hossein Salami rose to power six years ago and had a history of threatening the US and Israel, Associated Press reports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was created after its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since it was established, it’s evolved from a paramilitary, domestic security force to a transnational force that has come to the aid of Tehran’s allies in the Middle East, from Syria and Lebanon to Iraq. It operates in parallel to the country’s existing armed forces and controls Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, which it has used to attack Israel twice during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Salami, 65, was appointed as head of the guard in 2019 by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The appointment followed Donald Trump’s decision during his first term to withdraw the US from the international nuclear deal with Iran and restore crippling sanctions. It also followed Trump’s designation of the Guard as a terrorist organization. Like other guard leaders, Salami routinely delivered speeches with harsh rhetoric towards Israel. In a 2016 speech he said there was “fertile ground” for the “annihilation, the wiping out, and the collapse of the Zionist regime”. He also threatened the US. After the US killed the powerful head of the guard’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike outside Baghdad’s airport in 2020, Salami threatened to retaliate against American and Israeli commanders. The Quds, or Jerusalem, Force is an elite wing of the Guard that oversees foreign operations. Five days later, Iran launched ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American troops, causing injuries but no fatalities among soldiers there. After Soleimani was killed, Salami said that both the US and Israel should know that “if they threaten our commanders, none of their commanders will find a safe place” to live. The chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri, was also confirmed dead by Iranian state television. Agence France-Presse has quoted local media in naming the six nuclear scientists killed in Israel’s attack on Iran. “Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feqhi, Motalleblizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoun Abbasi were the nuclear scientists martyred” in Israel’s attack, Tasnim news agency said. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said, after contact with Iran, that the Isfahan nuclear site has not been impacted by Israel’s deadly attack, according to a snap report from Reuters. Six Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in Israel’s attack, Iranian state media reported. Iran said Israel’s deadly attacks on Friday underscored its need to advance uranium enrichment and missile capabilities. “One should not speak to such a predatory regime except in the language of power,” the Iranian government said in a statement. “The world now better understands Iran’s insistence on the right to enrichment, nuclear technology, and missile power.” More images are emerging of the damaged residential buildings. British prime minister Keir Starmer said the government urged “all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently” after Israeli strikes on Iran, adding that “now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy”. He said: “Escalation serves no one in the region. Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.” If you are just joining us, Julian Borger in Jerusalem has wrapped up the dramatic events of the past few hours in a comprehensive report. Read it here: It’s 9am in Tehran. Here are some of the latest images coming from Iran: More international reaction is coming in. British foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “concerned” to learn of Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear programme overnight. “Stability in the Middle East is vital for global security,” he said in a post on X. “I’m concerned to see reports of strikes overnight. Further escalation is a serious threat to peace & stability in the region and in no one’s interest. “This is a dangerous moment & I urge all parties to show restraint.” Japan “strongly” condemns Israel’s air strikes on Iran, foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters in Tokyo on Friday, calling for restraint from all parties. “We strongly condemn the latest action that escalates the situation,” he said. “Peace and stability in the Middle East region are extremely important to Japan, and we urge all parties involved to exercise the utmost restraint and calm the situation.” Airlines cleared out of the airspace over Israel, Iran and Iraq and Jordan on Friday after Israel launched attacks on targets in Iran, Flightradar24 data showed, with carriers scrambling to divert and cancel flights to keep passengers and crew safe. Reuters reports: Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran. Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel. Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots. As reports of strikes on Iran emerged, a number of commercial flights by airlines including Dubai’s Emirates, Lufthansa and Air India were flying over Iran. Air India, which overflies Iran for its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London. The International Atomic Energy Agency there is no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz facility, which was targeted by Israel. The nuclear watchdog also said the Bushehr nuclear plant has not been targeted. Israel has launched an attack on Iran aimed at “dozens” of targets, including its nuclear facilities. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attack, dubbed Rising Lion, would take “many days” and was aimed at “rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival”. He suggested the operation could be long and difficult, saying “Israeli citizens may have to remain in sheltered areas for lengthy periods of time.” Netanyahu said one target was the Natanz nuclear facility, a key site for uranium enrichment. An Israeli military spokesperson told Reuters that 100 drones were heading toward Israel and efforts to shoot them down were underway. “We are in for a rough few hours,” the spokesperson said. The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, announced a “special situation” in Israel after the country launched the strikes and said Israel expected retaliation. Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert. Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami has been killed in the strikes and the unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. The Revolutionary Guards said Israel will pay a heavy price for its attack. Israeli strikes also killed Gen, Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, according to Iranian state TV reports. Iran’s Press TV reports there have been a number of fatalities from Israel’s attacks. State TV says five people were killed in Tehran with many more across the country wounded. State TV is reporting that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Israel will receive a harsh punishment after its attack on Iran early on Friday. He confirmed that several commanders and scientists were killed in the attacks – and warned that Israel had “prepared a bitter fate for itself.” Iran’s foreign ministry said the US – as Israel’s main supporter - will be held responsible for the consequences of “Israel’s adventurism.” In a statement, the ministry said the Israeli attack “exposes global security to unprecedented threat” and calls on the international community to condemn it. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations has said Israel has an ongoing dialogue with the United States but its determination to strike Iran was an independent Israeli decision. Donald Trump has said that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and that the United States was hoping to get back to the negotiating table, in an interview with a Fox News following the start of Israeli airstrikes on Iran. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin quoted Trump as saying in a post on X. Trump will attend a national security council meeting on Friday morning, in the wake of the strikes. The meeting will be held at 11am (1500 GMT) on Friday, the White House said. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the strikes. “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-defence.” The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Friday that Israeli strikes were targeting an Iranian uranium enrichment site, saying it was “closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation”. Oil prices jumped more than 7% on Friday, hitting their highest in months after Israel said it struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies. World leaders have voiced concern over the strikes. New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said that the Israeli airstrikes on Iran was a “really unwelcome development”. Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the government was “alarmed”. Israel’s military says more than 100 targets were struck overnight in Iran and that over 200 fighter jets took part in the attack. In a post online, the IDF celebrated the success of the operation, highlighting that they believed “three senior leaders of the Iranian military and security establishment” had been killed. In the post, the IDF named Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces; Hossein Salami, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Ghulam Ali Rashid, commander of the Iranian Hatem al-Anbiya Command. Saudia Arabia has condemned Israel’s strike on Iran. In a statement, the country’s foreign ministry denounced the “blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms.” Iran and Saudi Arabia were long-time regional rivals, and Riyadh cut ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in 2016 following the Saudi execution of the revered Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The two great oil-producing rivals of the Middle East have agreed to restore ties and reopen embassies in 2023 after Chinese-brokered talks. Israeli media is reporting that Iran has launched 100 drones towards Israel. Quoting army officials, they say efforts are underway to intercept them. Iran’s oil ministry said key refineries and fuel depots were unaffected by Israel’s deadly attack on Friday, with operations continuing nationwide without disruption. “No damage was caused to the country’s refining facilities and oil depots, and currently the activities of these facilities and fuel supply are ongoing in all parts of the country without interruption,” the ministry said in a statement. China has issued advisories to its citizens in Israel and Iran of the “complex and severe” security situation, adding a warning to those in Israel to prepare for possible missile and drone attacks. The Chinese embassy in Israel told citizens there to strengthen their security precautions, avoid going out unnecessarily or to areas surrounding military units and sensitive institutions as the “security situation on the ground is complex and severe”. “Stay calm, be vigilant,” a notice on its WeChat account said, cautioning citizens to be prepared to guard against missiles, rockets, drones and other attacks. In a separate notice, the Chinese embassy in Iran also advised citizens and enterprises based there to pay close attention to developments and enhance their security awareness and precautions, asking citizens to avoid sensitive sites and crowded places. Iranian state media has said that five people have been killed and 20 injured in Israeli strikes on Tehran. Separately, State TV said that across the country, at least fifty people including women and children has been wounded. US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s escalating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday. Those talks were thrown into doubt by Israel’s widespread attack on Iran on Friday; however a US official said those talks were still scheduled to proceed despite the Israeli assault. The Israeli military said that it was forced to act based on new intelligence information showing that Iran was “approaching the point of no return” in the development of a nuclear weapon. A source familiar with US intelligence reports told Reuters there had been no recent change in the US intelligence assessment that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Khamenei had not authorised the restarting of the nuclear weapons programme that was shuttered in 2003. Oman, a mediator in the Iran-US nuclear talks, said the Israeli attacks on Friday threaten to “eliminate diplomatic solutions and undermine security and stability of the region.” Two Israeli officials have told Reuters that the country is bracing for an Iranian response in the coming hours. According to the officials, the Iranian response could include the launch of hundreds of ballistic missiles. Israeli officials have issued multiple warnings to the public and in a statement in the last hour, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “Israeli citizens may have to remain in sheltered areas for lengthy periods of time.” Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri was killed during the Israeli attacks that hit multiple cities including the capital, state television is reporting. “Major General Mohammad Bagheri chief of staff of the armed forces was martyred,” the broadcaster said. His death marks another senior casualty among Iran’s top leadership, after it was announced that the leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, was killed Another top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also said to be dead. Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian is quoting a military official as saying Israel has so far carried out “five waves of strikes” and “hundreds of strikes have been carried out in total.” The IDF said earlier it was striking Iranian nuclear sites, military sites, and top military and nuclear officials. President Donald Trump has reportedly spoken to Fox News host Bret Baier, telling him he hopes Iran will return to the negotiating table. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table,” Trump said, adding there were “several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” an apparent reference to the Iranian officials killed in today’s attacks. A US official has told Reuters that they still expect nuclear talk with Iran to go ahead in Oman this Sunday. UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Israel and Iran to “show maximum restraint” after Israel’s wave of air strikes, the secretary-general’s spokesperson said in a statement. While broadly condemning “any military escalation in the Middle East,” the statement by deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq noted Guterres was “particularly concerned” by Israel’s strikes on nuclear installations amid the ongoing US-Iran negotiations. The Secretary-General asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford.” “Israel has the inherent right and the solemn duty to defend itself,” Israel’s president Isaac Herzog has said, adding it will always do so with “determination and clarity.” The international community has seen how over the last decades, the Iranian regime—at the helm of a global terror empire—has continued to radicalize and destabilize the region with its proxies, while working relentlessly to advance its military nuclear capabilities, and expand its ballistic missile arsenal. Iran’s leaders have made no secret of their openly repeated intention to annihilate the State of Israel. For years, the regime has prepared to turn that vision into reality.” Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised Israeli forces for delivering a “successful opening strike.” He reiterated claims that the attacks had killed senior Iranian commanders and urged the public to “adhere to military guidance on public safety measures.” Echoing claims from his earlier statement that the operation could be long and difficult, Netanyahu said “Israeli citizens may have to remain in sheltered areas for lengthy periods of time.” Iran’s foreign ministry has said the US – as Israel’s main supporter - will be responsible for the consequences of “Israel’s adventurism.” In its statement, the ministry says the Israeli attack “exposes global security to unprecedented threat” and calls on the international community to condemn it. Earlier, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that Israel’s strikes on Iran were unilateral and that the US was not involved. In a statement, he warned Iran not to “target US interests or personnel.” Israel’s unilateral strikes indicate the collapse of Donald Trump’s efforts to restrain Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and almost certainly scuttled the US president’s efforts to negotiate a deal with Iran that would prevent it seeking a nuclear weapon. On Thursday, Trump noted that a strike by Israel could also compel Iran to make a nuclear deal. “It might help it actually but it also could blow it,” he said. That latter option is now a reality. You can read more here. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed revenge after the killing of its chief Hossein Salami in Friday’s Israeli attacks on the country. The attacks “will not remain unanswered and [Israel] must await harsh and regrettable revenge”, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a statement read on state TV. Israeli media is reporting that Friday’s strikes on Iran were enabled by “breakthrough intelligence” obtained by Israel in the past year, according to a senior IDF official. Emmanuel Fabian from the Time of Israel says units were established over the last year, “focused on Iran and preparations for a large-scale strike.” Following Israel’s strike on Iran in October, “the Intelligence Directorate carried out an unprecedented concentration of efforts to build an opening blow against senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists,” the official adds. In a statement, the Israeli military said Iran had been “working for decades to obtain a nuclear weapon. The world has attempted every possible diplomatic path to stop it, but the regime has refused to stop.” The military did not disclose the purported evidence that it had recently accumulated. Israel has fully coordinated with Washington on Iran and notified the United States before its strike on Iranian targets, an Israeli state broadcaster quoted an official as saying. The official, who was not named, told Kan that recent reports of rifts between Israel and Washington were false, but had not been denied as part of a media ruse to confuse Iran. President Donald Trump’s administration sought to distance the United States from Israel’s strikes on Iran - attacks that are likely to complicate Trump’s drive for a nuclear deal with Tehran. Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of state, stressed that Israel’s strikes were unilateral. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement. “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.” Trump has been increasingly at odds with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over both Iran and his handling of the Israel’s war in Gaza. Trump and Netanyahu spoke on Monday, and Trump told reporters the main topic was Iran. Retaliation by Iran for Israel’s strikes could put US troops and diplomats around the region at risk, given that the United States is Israel’s main backer. Gregory Brew, a senior Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, has said todays attacks are the largest on Iran since its 1980’s war with Iraq. Israel is launching what appears to be a multi-stage operation. The first step is to destabilize and reduce Iranian capability to retaliate.” He adds that if the goal is to destroy the nuclear program, “there will be more steps.” 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. 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.” The Iranian regime is blatantly violating international agreements, advancing towards nuclear weapons, and operating a regional terror network.” Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Israel will receive a harsh punishment after its attack on Iran early on Friday. Khamenei has confirmed that several commanders and scientists were killed in the attacks – and warned that Israel had “prepared a bitter fate for itself.” Iran has shut its airspace until further notice after Israel carried out air strikes on multiple targets across the country, state TV reported. Public relations of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization announced the closure of the country’s airspace until further notice by issuing aeronautical notices (NOTAM).” Oil prices jumped more than 7% on Friday, hitting their highest in months after Israel said it struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies. Reuters reports that Brent crude futures rose $5.29, or 7.63%, to $74.65 a barrel by after hitting an intraday high of $75.32, the highest since 2 April. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $5.38, or 7.91%, at $73.42 a barrel after hitting a high of $74.35. “The Israeli attack on Iran has heightened the risk premium further,” MST Marquee senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic said. “The conflict would need to escalate to the point of Iranian retaliation on oil infrastructure in the region before oil supply is actually materially impacted,” he said, adding that Iran could hinder up to 20 million barrels per day of oil supply via attacks on infrastructure or limiting passage through the Strait of Hormuz in an extreme scenario. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that it is monitoring the situation in Iran and has confirmed that the Natanz enrichment facility is among the targets. The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country.” On Thursday the IAEA issued its strongest condemnation of Iran in 20 years as it said the country had continued to enrich uranium to near weapons-grade levels and had failed to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations. It’s 6.30am in Iran where Israel has launched a number of strikes aimed at “dozens” of targets, including nuclear facilities. Here’s where things stand: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attack, dubbed Rising Lion, would take “many days” and was aimed at “rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival”. Netanyahu said one target was the Natanz nuclear facility, a key site for uranium enrichment. The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, announced a “special situation” in Israel after the country launched the strikes and said Israel expected retaliation. Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert. Iranian state TV reported that Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami was killed in the strikes and the unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. State TV is reporting that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed. Iran’s Press TV reports there have been a number of fatalities from Israel’s attack in Tehran. State TV has said several explosions were heard in Tehran and the country’s air defence system are on full alert. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations has said Israel has an ongoing dialogue with the United States but its determination to strike Iran was an independent Israeli decision. Donald Trump will attend a national security council meeting on Friday morning, in the wake of the strikes. Earlier, Trump warned that a “massive conflict” could break out in the Middle East soon if talks over an Iranian nuclear deal break down. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the strikes. “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-defence.” World leaders have voiced concern over the strikes. New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said that the Israeli airstrikes on Iran was a “really unwelcome development”. People in Iran’s capital, Tehran, are reporting hearing explosions boom across the city again, the Associated Press reports. Iranian state media are reporting fresh Israeli attacks in Tehran and Reuters has said that air defence fire can be heard over the city. Israel’s army chief has said the military’s strikes against Iran on Friday may not achieve “absolute success” and warned citizens to brace for likely retaliation from the Islamic republic. “I can’t promise absolute success - the Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response, the expected toll will be different to what we are used to,” Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said, while calling the strikes on Iran a “historic campaign unlike any other”. Defence minister Israel Katz said Israel was at a “critical juncture” in its campaign against Iran. “This is a defining moment in the history of the State of Israel and in the history of the Jewish people,” Katz said in a statement. We are now at a critical juncture. If we miss it, we will have no way to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons that will endanger our very own existence.” The attack on Iran comes a few days before a new round of US-Iranian talks were due in Oman, aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, which has expanded rapidly since 2018 Donald Trump withdrew from an international deal constraining the programme. The US president had discouraged Israel from taking military action while the talks were under way, though in the past few days he had expressed pessimism about them. It is unclear whether Washington was given advance warning of Israeli action and whether Trump had given a green light. In his speech, Netanyahu praised Trump for his efforts to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, and said Israel was acting in both its own and America’s interest. New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassihi is reporting on Iranian statements saying that the country will be “retaliating in force soon with counter strikes.” Gen Shekarchi, a spokesperson of the Armed Forces, said “Israel and the United States will receive a forceful slap.” Iran’s state TV has reported new explosion at the Natanz nuclear facility following the Israeli attack. Earlier black smoke was seen rising over the enrichment facility on state TV. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel targeted the site in Friday’s attack. Despite criticism from some US lawmakers, many other congressional leaders are offering full throated support for Israel’s actions. Democratic senator John Fetterman said “our commitment to Israel must be absolute and I fully support this attack.” We must provide whatever is necessary—military, intelligence, weaponry—to fully back Israel in striking Iran.” Senator Tom Cotton says “We back Israel to the hilt, all the way.” Republican senator John Cornyn has said he is “proud to stand with Israel.” US senator Chris Murphy has said the attack on Iran is “clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration’s negotiations with Iran” and “risks a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America”. The democratic senator said a war between Israel and Iran “may be good for Netanyahu’s domestic politics” but will likely be disastrous for “the rest of the region.” Iran would not be this close to possessing a nuclear weapon if Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu had not forced America out of the nuclear agreement with Iran that had brought Europe, Russia, and China together behind the United States to successfully contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.” Black smoke has been shown rising over Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz on state TV. It’s not clear how bad the damage is. 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. Images showing the destruction after the strikes. Here is some of the video that is coming into the Guardian showing explosions around Tehran on Friday morning. US president Donald Trump will attend a National Security Council meeting on Friday morning, the White House said late on Thursday. Earlier, Donald Trump warned that a “massive conflict” could break out in the Middle East soon if talks over an Iranian nuclear deal break down. Trump said on Thursday he was worried that an Israeli strike could “blow” the negotiations, and he confirmed he had ordered some US personnel to evacuate from the Middle East in case of an Iranian counterattack that could include “missiles flying in their buildings”. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations has said Israel has an ongoing dialogue with the United States but its determination to strike Iran was an independent Israeli decision. When asked in a CNN interview if Israel expected the US to assist Israel in case of an Iranian response, Israel’s US ambassador Danny Danon said: “Don’t think we should go into speculation.” Earlier we heard from the US secretary of state Marco Rubio who stressed that Israel’s strikes on Iran were unilateral and that the US was not involved. Jack Reed, the most senior Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, has condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, describing them as “alarming” and “reckless”. In a statement, Reed said: “Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence.” He added that the issues between Israel and Iran are “complex”, but said “military aggression of this scale is never the answer.” Despite the Trump administration appearing to distance itself from Netanyahu’s decision, some Republicans like Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice-president, have issued a messages of support for Israel’s strikes, saying: “The Mullahs in Tehran refused to dismantle their nuclear programme. Now it must be destroyed.” He is joined by Katie Boyd Britt, a Senate Republican who posted: “Please join me in praying for Israel.” Amid reports that a number of senior officials have died in the Israeli strikes on Iran, state TV is reporting that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed. State media has also reported that the strikes hit the Natanz nuclear site. No sirens could be heard in Jerusalem early on Friday, though alerts sounded on mobile phones. The distant drone of aircraft however could occasionally be heard through the night sky. Israel’s military chief of staff has said that tens of thousands of soldiers are being called up and warned that anyone who tried to challenge the country will “pay a heavy price”. Iranian state media has confirmed the killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami in an Israeli strike. One other top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead, the reports say. There has been no officials comment from the Iranian government or Revolutionary Guards. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is one of the main power centres within the country. 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. Fire and smoke were seen at a key site for the Guards in Tehran after the Israeli strikes, state TV reported. “A fire and smoke is being seen at IRGC General Command Headquarters in Pirouzi Street in the east of Tehran,” state TV said. Iran’s state television has said that Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, is among four senior officials who appears to have been killed in the strikes. On state TV, the reports are labelled as “unverified”. The Revolutionary Guards are Iran’s elite force who report directly to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Earlier we reported that state TV had confirmed that the Revolutionary Guards headquarters in Tehran had likely been hit. Israeli media are reporting that as well as the strikes, the Israeli espionage service, Mossad, orchestrated a series of clandestine operations within Iran. “These missions were designed to undermine Iran’s strategic missile systems and its air defense capabilities,” i24 diplomatic correspondent Amichai Stein has reported. Barak Ravid from the US publication Axios has said the operations were “deep inside Iran,” and aimed at damaging Iran’s “air defense capabilities.” Iran state TV says children are among those killed in the Israeli attack on residential areas in Tehran. Reports in state media say that the strikes hit Tehran and “several other cities.” The same reports say a revolutionary guards headquarter in Tehran was also hit. The New York Times is reporting that multiple residential apartment buildings in Tehran were hit, and are either demolished or burning. Israel’s strikes on Iran on Friday have likely killed members of Iran’s general staff, including the chief of staff and several senior nuclear scientists, an Israeli defence official said. Barak Ravid from US publication Axios has said that the Iranian military General Staff, including the Iranian Chief of Staff and senior nuclear scientists, were all targeted in the Israeli strikes. Some scenes from Tehran on Friday morning after people in Iran’s capital heard the sound of explosions from Israel’s strikes in the country. A witness in Nantanz, Iran, has told Reuters said multiple explosions were heard near a uranium enrichment facility. Israel has targeted the Nantanz facility, Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement earlier. The facility at Natanz is estimated to be 80-100 metres deep and experts have warned that it would be difficult for Israel to deal an enduring blow to Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities. Some reaction is coming in from around the world. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that the Israeli air strikes on Iran was a “really unwelcome development” and that the conflict raised serious concerns for the Middle East. “That region does not need any more military action and the risk associated with that ... the last thing the region needs is more instability,” Luxon told reporters. Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said Australia was “alarmed by the escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran” amid reports of explosions in Tehran. Wong said: “This risks further destabilising a region that is already volatile. We call on all parties to refrain from actions and rhetoric that would further exacerbate tensions. We all understand the need, the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, it represents a threat to international peace and security and we urge the parties to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy.” Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has said “following the preemptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, a missile and UAV [drone] attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate timeframe.” Therefore, and in accordance with his authority under the Civil Defense Law, Defence Minister Israel Katz has now signed a special order, according to which a special state of emergency will be imposed in the home front throughout the entire State of Israel.” Iraqi state media has reported that its airspace has been closed and flights at all airports have been suspended. The US state department said on Wednesday it had ordered the departure of all non-essential personnel from the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, based on its commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad”. The Israeli air force has said that dozens of air craft took part in an “opening strike” on various areas of Iran. It says the strikes were launched based on “high-quality intelligence, with the aim of damaging the Iranian nuclear program and in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.” Israeli officials have issued a statement, warning of sirens are expected to sound in wide areas of Israel, after the IDF launched an operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Every citizen must know what the best protected space is in their vicinity. When a warning is issued, one must enter protected spaces and remain there until an official announcement says it is safe to leave.” Iran’s Press TV reports there have been a number of fatalities from Israel’s attack on Tehran. Iran’s state TV has said several explosions were heard in Tehran and the country’s air defence system are on full alert. Netanyahu has said the operation will “continue as long as necessary”, in his address to the nation. Until we complete the mission of repelling the threat of annihilation that hovers over our heads. I salute from the bottom of my heart the commanders of the IDF and its soldiers, the Air Force, the Intelligence Branch, and the Mossad, for the bold planning of the operation and the determined and powerful execution.” US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said that Israel’s strikes on Iran were unilateral and that the US was not involved. In a statement, he said: “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 US interests or personnel.” Netanyahu has said Iran has “significant capabilities to harm us” in his address to the nation. And so we have prepared for that as well. I ask for the cooperation of all of you, citizens of Israel. Close cooperation in the coming hours and days. I ask you to strictly adhere to the Home Front Command’s instructions. These instructions save lives. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the nation, saying the IDF had targted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. He said that Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz had been targeted. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes … We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history. Iranian media say several residential areas in Tehran have been hit, causing fire. Iran has suspended all flights at its main Iman Khomeini airport, state TV says. Meanwhile, Israel has closed its airspace for arrivals and departures until further notice, the Transportation Ministry says. The Israeli military has said it has completed the first stage of strikes that included attacks on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran. Dozens of Air Force aircraft recently completed the opening strike, which included attacking dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in various areas of Iran.” The IDF has been conducting a lengthy process of assessments and preparations for the campaign at the front and in the rear. Civilian resilience will be an important component of the campaign.” In a statement, the IDF said “Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are a threat to the State of Israel and a significant threat to the entire world. The State of Israel will not allow a regime whose goal is the destruction of the State of Israel to possess weapons of mass destruction.” In announcing the operation against Iran, the IDF has claimed that Iran has enough enriched uranium to build several bombs, and it needs to act against this “imminent threat.” An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets. The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days. On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued its strongest condemnation of Iran in 20 years as it said the country had continued to enrich uranium to near weapons-grade levels and had failed to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations. 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. US senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally and supporter of Israel, has tweeted “Game on”. An Israeli military official has told Reuters that the air force is striking “dozens” of targets across Iran, including military and nuclear sites. The official has called the Iranian nuclear programme is an existential threat to Israel. Speaking to i24 diplomatic correspondent, Amichai Stein, an Israeli military official said that the country was preparing for “days of battle” with Iran. State TV in Iran has said air defences are on full alert amid reports of explosion in the capital Tehran. Holly Dagres from the Washington Institute has said that reports of strikes are concentrated around north Tehran. CNN has reported that Donald Trump has convened a cabinet level meeting, as US official told multiple media that Israel has begun carrying out strikes on Iran. The officials said there was no US assistance or involvement in the operation. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide further information. The Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on Iran on Friday, multiple media reported. Explosions were heard northeast of Tehran early on Friday, the state-run Nour News said, with videos shared online showing explosions in the capital Earlier on Thursday, US and European officials were told that Israel was fully ready to launch a pre-emptive strike targeting Iran’s nuclear programme, even if Washington does not provide direct support. The Trump administration had privately told Israel that it would not participate in a strike, according to Axios. The White House did not have an immediate comment Thursday night. 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. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced a “special situation” in Israel after the country launched strikes on Iran. Explosions have been heard northeast of Iran’s capital Tehran according to, the state-run Nour News. Katz said schools would be closed in the country on Friday There was no immediate word on what was struck. We’ll bring you more information as it arrives.

Author: Rebecca Ratcliffe (now); Adam Fulton, Robert Mackey, Maya Yang, Léonie Chao-Fong, Hayden Vernon, Amy Sedghi, Vicky Graham, Tom Bryant and Jonathan Yerushalmy (earlier)