This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Israel said it conducted air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and other sites across Iran, killing a top general and two other military officials in a major escalation that raised the potential for all-out war.
Iran reportedly launched scores of drones and missiles at Israeli sites in response to the June 13 attacks. Jordan’s military said it had intercepted a number of projectiles over its air space.
Among the sites hit in Iran were the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps command site in Tehran, according to Iranian state TV. The strike killed the commander of the corps, Major General Hossein Salami, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike aimed “to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival and that it would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility at Natanz…. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” he said in a video statement. Israel also hit Iranian nuclear scientists “working on the Iranian bomb,” he added.
Israel’s military said some 200 jets were involved in the massive raid, and Israeli TV reported that the Mossad intelligence agency may have set up a secret base inside Iran as part of the effort.
Iran’s supreme leader warned that Israel would suffer severe consequences for launching the attacks.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement.
Natanz Nuclear Facility Targeted
The Natanz uranium enrichment facility was hit “several times,” state TV reported, showing images of heavy smoke billowing from the site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Natanz had been a target, but said it had not detected increased radiation levels at the site. Two other facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear program — Isfahan and Fordow — were not affected, the agency said.
In a statement issued after the attacks, the Israeli Defense Forces asserted that Iran was “nearing the point of no return” in its efforts to build a nuclear weapon.
“The regime is producing thousands of kilograms of enriched uranium, alongside decentralized and fortified enrichment compounds, in underground, fortified sites,” it said.
In its latest report, the IAEA said Iran has sharply increased its production of highly enriched uranium, stockpiling 408.6 kilograms enriched to 60 percent — up from just under 275 kilograms in February. The 60-percent figure is well above the threshold needed for a weapon.
Residential areas in Tehran and several other cities also were hit, according to the official IRNA news agency, which reported that the strikes killed a number of people, including women and children, in a residential complex in Tehran.
Iran Launches Drone Attack In Retaliation
Israel said Iran launched about 100 drones toward it in retaliation, but did not say if there were any direct hits or damage.
Several Middle Eastern countries closed their airspace, and Jordan’s state news agency said a number of missiles and drones that had entered its airspace were intercepted.
The United States, Israel’s strongest ally, defended the Israeli actions, but said Washington was not involved.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel advised Washington that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defense, Rubio said in a statement. He also warned Iran against targeting US interests or personnel.
The White House said President Donald Trump was set to attend a National Security Council meeting on the subject later June 13.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a “special situation” in Israel in anticipation of a possible retaliatory strike by Iran “in the immediate timeframe.”
The United States and Iran have been holding tense, high-level negotiations on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A sixth round of talks had been scheduled for June 15 in Oman.
Iran has consistently claimed its nuclear efforts are solely for civilian and not military uses.
Iran has been working on a counteroffer after rejecting a US proposal for a deal that Khamenei described as “100 percent” against national interests.
In a phone conversation with Trump earlier this week, Netanyahu raised the possibility of strikes against Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal, and Trump urged Netanyahu to hold off as negotiations continue.
In a social media post on June 12, Trump said the United States wanted to negotiate with Iran, though he also warned that an Israeli strike on Iran was likely.
Earlier on June 12, the IAEA formally declaring Iran “noncompliant” with its nonproliferation obligations for the first time since 2005.
The 35-member IAEA board voted 19-3 with 11 abstentions to adopt the resolution, which had been put forward by the United States and its trio of European allies — Britain, France, and Germany.
The finding prompted a defiant response from Iran, which announced that a new enrichment site with new enrichment centrifuges would be set up at Fordow.
