In a culmination of decades of warnings from Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out massive air strikes on Iran early morning on Friday, June 13, targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Knewz.com has learned that the pre-dawn airstrikes, dubbed “Operation Rising Lion” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marked the most significant Israeli military action against Iran to date and were aimed at “rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
According to military sources in Israel, more than 200 fighter jets participated in the coordinated attacks, striking over 100 strategic sites across Iran—including nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, missile production plants, and headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Natanz, one of two underground nuclear sites in Iran, was reportedly hit several times during the attack, according to reports shown on Iranian state TV.
“Israeli defense officials indicated they believed Natanz was significantly damaged,” Israeli media have reported.
According to reports, uranium enrichment had recently resumed at full capacity at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
The IDF described the attack as a “pre-emptive, precise, combined offensive to strike Iran’s nuclear programme.”
“Israel spent years preparing for the operation against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs… including building a drone base inside Iran and smuggling precision weapons systems and commandos into the country. The effort hinged on tight joint planning between the IDF and the Mossad intelligence agency,” reports have mentioned.
Israeli PM Netanyahu shared a statement in the aftermath of the massive air strikes, saying:
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponisation programme. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile programme.”
In the statement, Netanyahu also spoke to the Iranian people directly:
“We do not hate you. You are not our enemies. We have a common enemy: a tyrannical regime that tramples you… For nearly 50 years, this regime has robbed you of the chance for a good life.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, also shared a statement about the overnight attack on Iran, saying:
“We are currently in contact with the Iranian nuclear safety authorities to ascertain the status of relevant nuclear facilities and to assess any wider impacts on nuclear safety and security. At present, the competent Iranian authorities have confirmed that the Natanz enrichment site has been impacted and that there are no elevated radiation levels. They have also reported that at present the Esfahan and Fordow sites have not been impacted.”
“This development is deeply concerning. I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment. Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security,” the statement from IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi added.
The statement further pointed out that “any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency.”
Iranian state media reported that power had been lost to several facilities and that at least 90 people were killed, including top military personnel. A further 300 were reportedly injured.
It has been reported that Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and one of the most powerful men in Iran, has been killed in the overnight Israeli strike.
It is worth noting that Major General Salami was at the helm of the IRGC when Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in April and October 2024, per reports.
In addition, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Air Force, were also killed in the attack, dealing a massive blow to Tehran.
According to reports, Hajizadeh headed the country’s missile program and was the mastermind of Iran’s previous attack on Israel in April 2024 as well as the missile attack on a US base in Iraq in 2020.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel would face a “severe punishment” over the attacks after state media confirmed top Iranian military officials and scientists had been killed in the strikes.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said in a statement.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also vowed revenge, saying that the attacks “will not remain unanswered and [Israel] must await harsh and regrettable revenge.”
In retaliation, Iran unleashed a barrage of over 150 ballistic missiles and 100 drones toward Israeli targets later on Friday, triggering nationwide air raid alerts. However, the IDF reported that Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow defense systems intercepted the vast majority of incoming projectiles.
According to an anonymous United States official, U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were also helping to shoot down Iranian missiles.
It is worth noting that Washington was quick to deny any involvement in the Israeli operation, as made clear in the statement made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
“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. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence.”
“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 US interests or personnel,” Rubio added.
The post Israel Strikes Iranian Nuclear Facility as War Explodes appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Samyarup Chowdhury
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