Here’s the latest.
Israel launched a stunning series of strikes against Iran on Friday morning, targeting nuclear and missile facilities and killing the nation’s top three generals. Fears grew that the long-simmering tensions between the heavily armed rivals could explode into a full-blown regional war.
Israel described the strikes as a pre-emptive step to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In addition to nuclear targets, Israel also struck Iran’s air defenses, long-range missile facilities, weapons depots, laboratories and the homes and headquarters of senior officials, according to Israeli defense officials.
The strikes were a major blow to Iran’s chain of command. Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the commander in chief of the military and the second highest commander after the supreme leader, was killed, semi-official Iranian media reported. The commander in chief of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Gen. Hossein Salami, and another ranking commander, Gen. Gholamali Rashid, were also among those killed in the strikes, Iran’s state media said.
Residents of Tehran, the Iranian capital, reported hearing huge explosions, and Iranian state television broadcast images of smoke and fire billowing from buildings.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a statement read on state television that Israel “should anticipate a harsh punishment.” A spokesman for the country’s armed forces said Israel and the United States would “receive a forceful slap.”
The United States, Israel’s main ally, said it was not involved in the strikes. “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, warning Iran to not attack American “interests or personnel.”
- Nuclear crown jewel: Israel said Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz was among the targets. Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that Natanz had been struck and that his organization was in touch with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels at the site.
- Trump hopes: President Trump has been pushing for a deal with Iran on its nuclear program. In recent weeks, he had urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to refrain from any strikes while the negotiations were underway, but it is not known what, if anything, he did to deter Israel. It is unclear if a scheduled meeting on Sunday between Mr. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Iran’s foreign minister will still take place.
- Threats to U.S. facilities: This week, the United States withdrew diplomats from Iraq, Iran’s neighbor to the west, and authorized the voluntary departure of the family members of U.S. military personnel from the Middle East. The U.S. military has a large fleet of warplanes, naval vessels and thousands of troops stationed in the region.
- Oil prices rise: Crude oil prices jumped sharply following the Israeli attack, with the Brent crude oil price jumping 9 percent to $78 a barrel. Iran lies on the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz, at the exit of the Persian Gulf, positioning Iran to block much of the oil exports of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and smaller Persian Gulf states if it wishes to do so in retaliation for the Israeli strike.
