Israel attacks Iran – videos
Israel conducted a "preemptive strike" targeting Iran's nuclear programme and military sites on the night of 12-13 June.
Source: The Times of Israel; Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Telegram; CNN
Details: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency across the country following Israel's preventive strike on Iran.
Quote from Katz: "Following the State of Israel's preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future."
Details: Katz stated that he had signed "a special order, according to which a special state of emergency will be imposed in the home front throughout the entire State of Israel".
The Times of Israel added that sirens had been heard across the country.
Update: The IDF confirmed that it had launched an aerial campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme.
According to the report, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is striking dozens of targets across Iran related to the nuclear programme and other military sites.
The offensive has been named "Operation Rising Lion".
The IDF stated that Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to produce several bombs within days and action must be taken against this "immediate threat".
The sirens heard across Israel were part of an IDF warning anticipating a possible Iranian response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of the Security Cabinet due to the strikes on Iran.
According to Israeli and Iranian media outlets, both countries have announced the closure of their airspace.
In an official statement, the IDF said it had conducted "a preemptive, precise, combined offensive" on Iran "in response to the Iranian regime's ongoing aggression against Israel".
"A short while, dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran," the statement reads.
According to Netanyahu, the objective of the operation is to strike Iran's nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile production facilities and Iran’s military potential. He added that the operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States had not been involved and had not provided assistance in Israel's strikes on Iran.
#BREAKING Jet noises, air defense, multiple explosions, and ground shaking in east, west, and central #Tehran/#Iran
— 𓄂✺Yaar - يار قدیمی🎗️ (@YaarGhadimi) June 13, 2025
Israelis are here!
Shalom @khamenei_ir! 😂 pic.twitter.com/55K9YyAQp0
Videos of Israel’s attack on Iran were published on social media.
According to media reports, Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, other members of the top military command and nuclear scientists were killed during the first IDF strikes on Iran.
Iranian state media outlets also confirmed the death of Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a result of the Israeli strike.
Previously: It had been reported that Israel might attack Iran in the coming days if Tehran rejected the US proposal to limit its nuclear programme.
Background:
- US President Donald Trump has not ruled out an Israel strike on Iran, although he would prefer to avoid it by continuing nuclear talks with Tehran.
- According to media reports, Trump held a phone conversation with Netanyahu on Monday 9 June during which he said that there was still a chance to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and therefore he did not want to resort to military means.
- The conversation took place a few days before the end of the two-month deadline Trump had given Iran to reach a deal. Iranian officials are expected to issue a formal rejection later this week.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!