JERUSALEM, Israel – Explosions rocked the Iranian capital, Tehran, early Friday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had launched a preemptive attack against Iran.
The attack, named “Operation Rising Lion,” was a response to what Israel called “the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against the Jewish state.”
Netanyahu stated the military campaign would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
He explained, “We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran’s weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s main nuclear facility in Natanz.”
Emergency sirens blared in Israel just before 3:00 a.m. local time, warning citizens to prepare for possible retaliation. Ben Gurion Airport was closed, and the school day was canceled.
Israeli authorities alerted the public that Iran had fired a first wave of drones at Israel on Friday morning, then later reported that all 100 drones were intercepted.
Israel reportedly struck the nuclear facilities of its sworn enemy in an attempt to prevent the hardline Islamic regime from developing nuclear weapons that could be used to attack the Jewish state.
The attack comes after the U.S. had tried to restrain Israel from taking action while it attempted to broker a nuclear peace deal with Iran, but the regime in Tehran would not comply with negotiation efforts.
In addition to the attack on its nuclear facilities, Iranian state television said Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, was believed to have died in the attack. The report added that one other top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead.
The attack reportedly set the headquarters of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard ablaze. Multiple sites in the capital had been hit, and Netanyahu said the military had targeted both nuclear and military sites as well as officials leading Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal.
Israel released a video showing Iranian leaders calling for their destruction, arguing this attack was essential to protect their right to exist:
For years, the Iranian regime has openly threatened to erase Israel and its allies from the map.
We will not let them. pic.twitter.com/FVfjCeGgaw
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) June 13, 2025
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