Iran launched a retaliatory missile attack on Israel on Saturday morning, killing at least three people and injuring dozens of people after a series of bubbles in Israel’s nuclear program and its armed forces.
The Israeli attacks used fighter jets, as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, to attack power and kill top generals and scientists.
Israel asserts that weapons must be carried out before Iran is closer to building atomic weapons, although experts and the U.S. government have assessed that Tehran was not actively engaged in such weapons before the strike. This also puts talks between the United States and Iran on the atomic agreement, which will meet on Sunday a few days ago.
Officials said Israel used fighter jets and drones to the country in advance, attacked the key facilities and killed top generals and scientists. Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 were injured in the attack.
Iran retaliated by the wave of launching drones and ballistic missiles in Israel, the explosion ignited the night sky in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shocked the buildings below. The Israeli military urged civilians to go to shelters for hours in the 20-month war triggered by the October 7, 2023 attack in Gaza.
Both Israel and Iran say their attacks will continue, which adds to the prospect of another protracted Middle East conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his goal is to eliminate any threat to Israel, but he also urged Iranians to compete with their leaders. Even if the government does not actively seek it, Israel welcomes the overthrow of the government.
Israel's strike also led to further negotiations between the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran, which will then meet in Oman on Sunday. State TV said a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said further nuclear negotiations with the United States were “meaningless” after Israel's strike against the country.
Esmail Baghaei is quoted as saying: “The United States has done a job that makes negotiations meaningless.” He added that Israel has committed “criminal acts” through strikes, passing all Iran’s red lines.
However, he no longer said that the negotiations were cancelled. “It is not clear what we have to do with Sunday's talks,” Mizan News Agency, chaired by the Iranian judiciary, quoted him as saying.
Iran missile strikes Israel
“We will not allow them to escape safely from this huge crime they committed,” Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recording message on Friday.
Iran launched a missile wave in Israel on Friday and early Saturday. The Iranians woke up on Saturday to broadcast to state television, playing recurring strike clips on Israel, and videos of people cheering and distributing candy. Israeli troops said more drones were intercepted near the Dead Sea in the early hours of Saturday.
A hospital in Tel Aviv suffered seven injuries and was injured in a second Iranian barrage, one of which suffered minor injuries. Israel's fire and rescue services said they were injured when the projectiles hit a building in the city. A spokesman for Bellinson Hospital said a woman was killed.
A few hours later, an Iranian missile attacked a house in the central Israeli city of Lesson, killing two people and injuring 19 people, according to Israeli caregiver David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue Bureau said four homes were severely damaged.
Meanwhile, shortly after midnight on Saturday, explosions and Iranian air defense systems fired at the target. Associated Press reporters can hear air sirens near their homes. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, shows a column of smoke and flames rising from what the media says is the airport.
The Israeli military said it launched an overnight strike on dozens of targets including air defenses “in the Tehran region.”
Israeli care workers service said 34 people were injured in the attack in Tel Aviv area, including a woman trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an Associated Press reporter saw burned cars and at least three damaged houses, including one that had almost completely torn the front.
Residents of the central Israeli city that was hit Friday night told the Associated Press that the explosion was so powerful that it shocked them
The shelter door opens.
“We think that's it, the house has gone, and actually half of the house has disappeared, it collapses,” Moshe Shani said.
A U.S. ground air defense system in the region is helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, a U.S. official said he spoke on anonymously to discuss the measures.
Latest attacks raise concerns about total war
The ongoing air strikes in Israel and Iran’s retaliation have raised concerns about a full-scale war between the two countries and pushed areas already on the edge into greater unrest.
The countries in the region condemn the Israeli attack, while leaders around the world call for immediate downgrade from both sides.
Israel has long threatened such strikes, which later the U.S. government tried to prevent, fear that it would cause wider conflicts throughout the Middle East and could ineffectively undermine Iran's spread and strong nuclear program.
But Israel has finally followed the threat after the October 7, 2023 attacks and developments triggered by re-election by U.S. President Donald Trump. Netanyahu said the United States had been informed before the attack.
On Thursday, the UN Atomic Observatory failed to comply with a condemnation aimed at preventing its nuclear weapons from developing.
The firefight between Israel and Iran ruined East-West travel across the Middle East, a major global air route. But state-run Petra News Agents of Jordan said the country will reopen its space to civilian planes at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, indicating that it believes there is no direct danger. The Lebanese government also said it reopened the airspace on Saturday.
The above ground part of the Natanz facility hits
The main site of the Israeli attack was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke can be seen rising into the air. According to Iranian news media, it also appeared to have attacked Fordo's second, smaller nuclear-rich facility, about 100 kilometers southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news media.
Israel said it also attacked a nuclear research institute in Isfahan and destroyed dozens of radar devices and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike in Isfahan.
UN nuclear director Rafael Grossi told the Council that the above-ground parts of the Natanz facility were destroyed.
He said the main centrifugal facilities underground didn’t seem to have been hit, but losing power could damage the infrastructure there.
Netanyahu said the attack had been ongoing for several months and was scheduled to be postponed in April.
Israel's Mossad spy agency has positioned the blasted drones and precision weapons in advance and used them to target Iran's defense capabilities and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
It is impossible to independently confirm these claims.
Over the past year, Israel has been targeting Iran's air defense systems, hitting the radar system in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile and missile manufacturing facilities in October.
According to Israeli military officials, the first wave of strikes gave Israel a “important freedom of movement” in the sky of Iran, clearing the way for further attacks.
Israel is ready for an action that lasts for two weeks, but there is no solid timeline, the official said.
Among the people killed were three senior Iranian military leaders:
- A man who oversees the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri.
- A man who led General Hossein Salami, the paramilitary revolutionary guard.
- General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guard Ballistic Missile Program.
Iran confirmed on Saturday that two representatives of Bagri were also killed: General Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy intelligence representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and General Mehdi Rabbani, deputy operational deputy.
Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal on its nuclear program, warning him about the truth about the social platform that the Israeli attacks “only get worse.”
“Iran has to reach an agreement and then there’s more to stay.”
