Israel’s military shared footage it said showed extensive Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s “nuclear headquarters” after both countries launched fresh attacks into the early hours of Sunday.
Why It Matters
Israel launched large-scale “pre-emptive” strikes on Iran late on Thursday U.S. time, largely designed to slice apart Tehran’s nuclear program and hit its stockpiles of ballistic missiles. Iran carried out drone and missile attacks on Israel after vowing a “crushing response.”
Both sides continued to execute strikes against one another into Sunday, with de-escalation looking unlikely as Iran called off planned nuclear limitation talks with the United States that was scheduled for Sunday in Oman.
Tehran has accused the U.S. of being directly involved in the waves of Israeli attacks, which Washington has denied—although Trump on Friday said the U.S. “knew everything” about Israel’s strikes.
The U.S. and Israel view the possibility of Iran gaining a nuclear weapon as unacceptable. Israel said it had launched its strikes because it believed Tehran would have a nuclear weapon “in a very short time.” However, Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.
The United Nations‘ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Thursday that Iran was not cooperating with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years.
Tehran said it would get a new enrichment site in a “secure location” up and running.
What To Know
Roughly 50 Israeli fighter jets struck targets relating to Iran’s nuclear program in the country’s capital overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Sunday.
The Israeli military homed in on the Iranian Defense Ministry, the headquarters for Iran’s SPND nuclear development program, and “additional targets” related to nuclear technology, the IDF said. The Israeli air force in a translated statement on X, formerly Twitter, had earlier on Sunday confirmed an “extensive wave of strikes” against Iranian military and nuclear targets in Tehran.
The military shared footage it said showed the moment Israel struck the “nuclear headquarters” of the SPND in the capital. The black-and-white footage shows several explosions in what appears to be a built-up area.
Newsweek could not independently verify the clip and has reached out to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
Iranian state media on Sunday reported Israeli strikes on an oil depot and another fuel site in the south of the country. Fresh attacks on Tehran were reported on Sunday afternoon local time.
Israel’s military said after its initial strikes it had targeted the nuclear sites of Isfahan, south of Tehran, and Natanz, just to the north of Isfahan. Natanz is Iran’s main facility for enriching uranium.
Satellite imagery captured by Maxar on Saturday showed multiple damaged buildings at Natanz, but no visible damage to the Fordow enrichment facility southwest of Tehran.
The IAEA said on Friday the above-ground part of Natanz had been “destroyed,” along with power infrastructure at the site.
The agency told the U.N. Security Council at the time that Iranian authorities had reported attacks on Isfahan and to Fordow but could not provide further details.
During his first term, President Donald Trump pulled out of a Barack Obama-era agreement with Iran formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or simply as the Iran nuclear deal.
The agreement loosened sanctions on Iran in exchange for fresh constraints on the country’s nuclear development. Tehran later abandoned provisions of the JCPOA and forged ahead with its nuclear program.
Trump has threatened Iran with “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before” if Tehran does not ink a deal.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Saturday that talks between Iran and the U.S. on the nuclear program were “unjustifiable” while Israeli attacks were ongoing.
Trump said on Friday he had given Iran “chance after chance to make a deal.”
“No matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done,” Trump said. “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end.”
A screengrab of a video published by the Israeli military on Sunday, claiming to show the targeting of Iran’s “nuclear headquarters” in Tehran by dozens of Israeli fighter jets.
A screengrab of a video published by the Israeli military on Sunday, claiming to show the targeting of Iran’s “nuclear headquarters” in Tehran by dozens of Israeli fighter jets.
Israel Defense Forces/Telegram
What People Are Saying
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a post on Facebook on Sunday: “As part of Operation “Rising Lion” the IDF struck over 170 targets and more than 720 military infrastructure components in under three days. We continue to intensify the blow to the Iranian nuclear threat, targeting its heart and depriving it of critical capabilities and components for weapon production.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning: “The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!”
Iranian Defense Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh said in a statement last week: “If a conflict is imposed on us, all US bases are within our reach, and we will boldly target them in host countries.”
What Happens Next?
Fresh explosions have been reported in Tehran late on Sunday local time after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned of “more painful and crushing responses” to Israeli strikes.
Footage circulating online on Sunday afternoon Tehran time appear to show smoke rising from buildings in several locations. These clips could not be independently verified.
Israel’s military had issued an “urgent warning to Iranian citizens” to evacuate areas close to Iranian military and weapons sites earlier on Sunday.