Israel launched a massive attack on Iran early Friday targeting country’s nuclear program and killing four top military commanders and several nuclear scientists. This is the most significant attack on Iran since 1980s Iraqi invasion, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries.
Here are the latest updates
Jamkaran (Qom): Iran has raised the symbolic red flag of revenge above the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom after deadly Israeli airstrikes. The red flag signals a call for justice and retaliation in Shia tradition, especially when blood has been unjustly spilled.
According to Press TV, the flag was hoisted shortly after Israeli jets struck multiple Iranian military and nuclear targets on Friday. These attacks led to the deaths of senior commanders, scientists, and civilians, including women and children. The strikes have drawn both grief and anger across the country.
As a response, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the mosque, chanting anti-Israel slogans and waving Iranian flags. The city of Qom, located about 140 km south of Tehran, is one of Iran’s most sacred sites. Protesters demanded strong and immediate retaliation for the attacks.
Iran’s Supreme Leader has vowed ‘harsh punishment’ for Israel saying the Jewish state would suffer severe consequences after the latter launched unprecedented attack on the Islamic republic early Friday.
In a statement, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei vowed “harsh punishment” for Israel after the airstrikes killed several top Iranian commanders and scientists.
Israel Attacks Iran, Ignites War
Explosions rocked the Iranian capital as state media confirmed civilian casualties, including children, and reported deaths of top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and at least five nuclear scientists.
Jewish state said it targeted Iran’s nuclear program and the attacks will continue “for as many days at it takes to remove this threat,” from the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s state television confirmed the attack saying strikes on residential buildings in the capital killed a number of civilians including children.
Taslim News reported head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) was among other top military commanders and nuclear scientists targeted in the air strikes.
Iran’s state television also reported attack on the headquarters of IRGC.
The report on air added that IRGC commander Hossain Salamis, as well as two nuclear scientists were also feared killed.
Israeli premier Netanyahu declared in Jerusalem that the military campaign will continue for “as many days as it takes”, raising fears of all out war.
The strikes are certain to trigger a reprisal, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei warning that “severe punishment” would be directed at the Zionist state.
Top Commander, Nuclear Scientist Killed
IRGC commander Major General Hossein Salami has been martyred in the Israeli attack early on Friday, reported Press TV.
Several other senior IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists are also among the dead in the large-scale Israeli attack in Tehran and other provinces across the country.
Veteran nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi have also been martyred in the attack, Press TV reported.
US Warns Iran Against Retaliation
In Washington, the Trump administration said that Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that it had informed the US ahead of the attack but warned Iran against retaliations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the U.S. that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement released by the White House that warned Iran against targeting U.S. interests or personnel.
The Israel launched attack a day after the US Embassy in Israel issued a security alert restricting the movement of its employees and their family members in the country, amid escalating tensions in the region.
Earlier President Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because “it could be a dangerous place,” as tensions with Iran rise.
Expecting Retaliation
Both Iran and Israel closed their airspace.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz signed a special order declaring an emergency situation in the home front.
“In the wake of the state of Israel’s preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately,” he said in a statement.
“It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,” it said.
For Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel’s ongoing and increasingly unpopular war in Gaza, which is now over 20 months old. There is a broad consensus in the Israeli public that Iran is a major threat, and Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, a staunch critic of Netanyahu, offered his “full support” for the mission against Iran.
But analysts say if Iranian reprisals cause heavy Israeli casualties or major disruptions to daily life, Netanyahu could see public opinion quickly shift.
Airspace Closed
Iranian airspace is now closed. Flights inside Iran and completing their transit or diverting out. Flights planned to pass over Iran are holding or diverting.
Dozens of commercial airliners were in Iranian airspace as the strikes took place, according to flight tracking websites.
More than an hour after the Israeli attack, some were still making their way out of Iranian airspace, but some abruptly altered course to more quickly exit the area.
The strike on Iran pushed the Israeli military to its limits, requiring the use of aging air-to-air refuelers to get its fighter jets close enough to attack. It wasn’t immediately clear if Israeli jets entered Iranian airspace or just fired so-called “standoff missiles” over another country. People in Iraq heard fighter jets overhead at the time of the attack. Israel previously attacked Iran from over the border in Iraq.
