Israel launched major strikes against Iran in the early hours of Friday morning, raising the prospect of a regional war between the longtime foes over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had started a “targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
"This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat of annihilation against us," he added.
Netanyahu said the operation was aimed at Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile program, and other military sites.
The Israeli army said in a statement that dozens of jets took part in the first wave of strikes on “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.”
Explosions were heard in and near the Iranian capital of Tehran in the early hours as the news broke, Iran’s state-run Nour News reported.
Earlier, Israel’s Defense Minister Ian Katz said Israel had carried out a “preemptive strike” against Iran and that “a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future.”
A state of emergency was declared across Israel ahead of the expected response.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the U.S. was “not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S interests or personnel,” he said in a statement.
Israel has long threatened to carry out military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities to prevent it from acquiring an atomic bomb. Israeli officials have accused Iran of seeking a bomb in secret, without providing evidence.
Iran denies that its nuclear program is aimed at building a bomb, a claim that is backed by U.S. intelligence.
But Iran has repeatedly refused a U.S. demand to give up the ability to enrich uranium, which it says it needs to fuel its nuclear power program, but which could also be used to build a nuclear weapon.
Tensions have been building at the same time that Donald Trump has been leading efforts to reach a new agreement with Iran aimed at curbing its nuclear program in return for the easing of sanctions.
Iran had previously struck a deal with the U.S. and world powers in 2015 over its nuclear program that imposed strict limits on its activities and enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump unilaterally withdrew from that deal during his first term, insisting that he could strike a better bargain, and imposed sweeping sanctions.
It resulted in Iran reviving and improving its nuclear facilities and enriched uranium to a much higher purity than it had under the previous deal, and much closer to the grade needed to make a bomb.
Talks had stalled in recent days, but the U.S. and Iran were due to hold another round of negotiations on Sunday.
On Wednesday, non-essential personnel began evacuating from U.S. embassies across the Middle East. Still, Trump signaled earlier Thursday he still hoped an agreement could be reached.
"We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon," he added.
Trump has reportedly tried to dissuade Netanyahu from launching an attack on Iran while the U.S. was still engaged in talks. Those efforts appear to have failed.
Although the U.S. has denied being involved in the attack, any war between Israel and Iran would likely draw in American forces into a wider regional conflict.
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