Israel’s attack on Iran nuclear sites is ‘declaration of war’

• Top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists assassinated
• Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says strikes will last ‘many days’
• ‘Operation Rising Lion’ hit Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility
• Civilians – including children – among those killed in Tehran

Iran has called Israel’s ongoing deadly strikes on its military and nuclear facilities a ‘declaration of war’ and called on the UN Security Council to act.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi urged the United Nations to ‘immediately address this issue’ after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks will continue ‘for days’.

More than 200 fighter planes were unleashed on Iran as part of ‘Operation Rising Lion’, targeting ‘dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran’.

Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility, Natanz, was heavily damaged, the Iranian atomic energy agency said.

The country’s highest-ranking military officer, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, were both confirmed dead.

Six Iranian nuclear scientists were also killed in the strikes, alongside a number of civilians – including children – in Tehran.

Awaiting retaliation, a state of emergency was declared in Israel, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning of ‘severe punishment’.

All eyes are now on the next moves by Iran and the US, particularly whether the US will get involved, after Israeli officials said they received ‘the green light’ by the White House.

Iran oversees a so-called ‘Axis of Resistance; across the region – including loyal proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen as well as various militia groups in Iraq and Syria.

It is yet unclear if its allies in the Middle East will also retaliate against the Israeli operation.

Why has Israel attacked Iran?

Early reporting suggests that Operation Rising Lion, has multiple goals – most importantly, crippling Iranian nuclear capacity and degrading any plans to retaliate.

Netanyahu stressed in his address on Friday morning that Israel’s attack is in response to the nuclear threat posed by Iran.

‘In recent years Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs,’ he said.

‘In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before steps to weaponise this enriched uranium and if not stopped Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.

‘It could be a year, it could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival.’

On Thursday, United States president Donald Trump warned that an Israeli strike on Iran ‘could very well happen’ unless Iran agreed to halt production of material for an atomic bomb.

When and where did the strikes happen?

Explosions were first reported in Iran’s capital Tehran around 3.30am local time.

Iranian state TV broadcast footage of blown-out walls, burning roofs and shattered windows in residential buildings across the city.

A number of civilians including children were killed, Iranian state media said.

‘A number of people including women and children were martyred in a residential complex in Tehran,’ the official IRNA news agency reported.

As many as 95 people were injured across 12 Iranian provinces, with 140 emergency response teams deployed.

How has Iran responded?

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed ‘severe punishment’ after deploying 100 drones towards Israeli airspace – most of which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome.

‘By God’s will, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces will not let it go unpunished,’ Khamenei said in a statement.

‘In the enemy’s attacks, a number of commanders and scientists were martyred. Their successors and colleagues will immediately continue their duties, God willing.

‘With this crime, the Zionist regime has brought a bitter and painful fate upon itself, and it will certainly face it.’

Sirens could be heard across Israel to alert citizens of the drone attack on Friday morning.

A message was also sent to every mobile phone in Israel which read: ‘Most severe emergency alert. Follow Home Front Command instructions. Due to preparation for a significant threat, immediately follow Home Front Command instructions being distributed at this moment across all media channels.’

Israel is now in a state of emergency with schools and businesses closing, with the exception of ‘essential activity’.

The nation’s airspace is also closed and all civilian flights to the country have been cancelled.

US denies involvement in Israeli strike

The US has so far denied any involvement in Israel’s plan to strike Iran.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said: ‘Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We have no involvement in the strikes against Iran, and our top priority is to protect American forces in the region.

‘Israel informed us that they believe this action is necessary for self-defence. President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces, and we maintain close contact with our partners in the region.

‘Let me be clear – Iran should avoid harming US interests or our people.’

However, the Israel Defense Forces has claimed that they were in ‘full communication with the US during the attacks.

‘Israeli Air Force jets have begun striking throughout Iran,’ the IDF said.

‘We are in full communication with the Americans and maintaining good cooperation with them. We are striking now due to Iran’s progress and rapid advancement in recent months in their nuclear weapons program – they are just days away, given a decision, from having enough fissile material for 15 nuclear bombs.

‘In recent months, the Iranians have conducted secret tests for assembling nuclear weapons. Iran has thousands of ballistic missiles with plans to triple that number in the coming year – this already poses an existential threat to Israel, even without nuclear weapons, which we will attack.’

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