Israel has killed two Iranian military officials, several leading Iranian scientists, and civilians after it launched a wave of missile strikes directed at Iran on Friday.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami was among those reportedly killed after Israel launched strikes across the region, targeting locations that included a nuclear facility as well as civilian areas.
Iran vowed retaliation and launched over 100 drones at Israel, but the threat is thought to have been mobilised for now.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to attack the besieged Gaza Strip, where more than a million Palestinian civilians are facing dire conditions and starvation.
Israel has also continued to strike locations in southern Lebanon in recent weeks and has also authorised strikes in Syria.
The latest attack aimed at Iran has prompted international concern about an all-out war in the region, as tensions continue to mount across the Middle East.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why is Israel attacking Iran?
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the attack was designed to ensure "Israel's very survival" after claiming that Iran has taken steps that could lead to the creation of a nuclear weapon.
Israel has also weakened Iran’s proxies in recent months, namely Hezbollah and Hamas, so it didn’t necessarily come as a surprise that it decided to strike within Iran in an attempt to hinder its nuclear capabilities.
Israel’s attack came just days before the US and Iran were due to meet to discuss Iran’s nuclear capabilities, a meeting that reports suggest could now have been called off.
US president Donald Trump has urged Tehran to reach a deal to effectively curb its nuclear programme, warning further attacks are planned.
“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,” Trump wrote. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.”
Although the US and other foreign countries have so far distanced themselves from Israel’s attack, it’s unclear whether Iran may strike Israel’s allies across the region in response.
This attack on Iran might also serve as a distraction. Israel’s brutal assault on the Gaza Strip has faced growing condemnation from international audiences that accuse Netyahu’s government of carrying out a genocide against civilians.
Iran and Israel relations
The differences between Israel and Iran stem from religious, ideological, and political roots.
Iranian officials have long denounced Israel as “illegitimate” and refused to recognise it as a state, while advocating for the rights of Palestine. As a result, tensions have been fraught between the countries for decades.
Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip and expansion in the West Bank, largely supported by the West, may have emboldened Israel’s far-right leadership to attack further afield.
It’s not the first time that Israel and Iran have exchanged missiles, and many will remember a similar situation happening in 2024.
Last year, Israel was responsible for the assassinations of Palestinian negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah official Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian military official Abbas Nilforoushan - attacks that Iran vowed to seek revenge for.
Iran launched 180 missiles at Israel at the start of October, with Israel then responding by attack a defence system in Iran.
