Israel strikes Iran's nuclear sites, kills military chiefs and scientists
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A building in Iran that was hit during Israel's attack. Photo: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty
Israel launched a massive wave of attacks across Iran on Thursday night, bombing nuclear and missile sites, targeting military leaders and nuclear scientists, and conducting covert sabotage operations on missile and air defense sites.
Why it matters: Israel is directly attacking its biggest and best-armed adversary without explicit backing from the U.S., which swiftly distanced itself from the operation. Iran has already launched more than 100 drones toward Israel in response.
- President Trump publicly opposed an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites on Thursday, saying he still believed a nuclear deal was possible.
- Hours later, Israel began targeting nuclear sites as well as the Iranian military's top brass and senior scientists working on the nuclear program.
- Trump told Fox News late Thursday that the U.S. was aware of the strikes ahead of time but was not involved militarily and hopes Iran will return to the negotiating table. He said CENTCOM is on high alert for retaliation against U.S. targets.
The latest: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. commander Gen. Hossein Salami was among those killed, along with military chief of staff Gen. Mohammad Bagheri and at least one more high-ranking general, Iranian state media confirmed.
- State media also confirmed the deaths of two top nuclear scientists and another senior general, and showed images of smoke billowing from residential buildings.
- Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei promised "a harsh punishment" for the attack.
- Israel imposed a national state of emergency and Defense Minister Israel Katz told Israelis to expect drone and missile attacks from Iran "in the immediate future." All schools and most workplaces will be closed on Friday.
The big picture: The Israeli strikes — which the Israel Defense Forces say involved more than 200 fighter jets — have launched a new military conflict that poses grave danger to both Israel and Iran.
- An ISF official told reporters the operation to destroy Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities will take several days, and Israel expects Iran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign would continue "as long as it takes."
- The IDF official claimed that in recent weeks, Israel had indications that Iran was racing for a nuclear bomb — and that with every day that passed, Israel would have less visibility into Iran's advancements. "We are now in a strategic window of opportunity and close to a point of no return, and we had no choice but to take action," the official said.
- Iran denies that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and the U.S. and other allies have made no such warning about Iran racing toward a bomb.
Behind the scenes: The U.S. notified several of its allies in private on Thursday that Israeli strikes were imminent and made clear it was not involved, a source familiar with those discussions said.
- The Trump administration told Israel it would not participate in any strikes on the nuclear program, Axios reported.
- However, the U.S. has previously helped defend Israel from Iranian attacks and is likely to do so again.
State of play: The Israeli operation is very broad in scale, with both nuclear and missile sites and high-ranking Iranians targeted.
- Netanyahu said planning had been underway for months to simultaneously strike Iran's nuclear and missile programs. He claimed Iran had taken unprecedented steps in its nuclear program and was rapidly producing a massive stockpile of ballistic missiles, both of which Israel was seeking to "eliminate."
- An IDF spokesperson said only "necessary" activities should take place in Israel starting Friday morning local time. That includes a ban on "educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, with the exception of essential businesses."
- Israel closed its airspace, and Iran also suspended flights out of Tehran's international airport. Israel's political leaders were moved to a secure location.
What they're saying: "Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
- "Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense," he continued.
- "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."
Friction point: Israel has been preparing and drilling for weeks, but had previously told the U.S. it would wait to see what happened with Trump's nuclear talks.
- In his statement, Netanyahu thanked Trump for his years of support for Israel and opposition to Iran's nuclear program. But he did not have public support from Trump for this attack.
- A sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks had been scheduled for Sunday, but Israel has likely now wiped out any prospect of a deal.
- Trump has a National Security Council meeting in the Situation Room on his schedule for Friday at 11am.
What to watch: Iran has vowed to strike U.S. targets in the region in the event of any attack on its nuclear program.
- The U.S. is in the process of withdrawing diplomats and military families in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait who could be in harm's way.
- The U.S. has also boosted air defenses around several of its sources in the Gulf.
Flashback: Iran threatens to move nuclear material to secret sites to thwart Israeli strike
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
