Iran declared Israel’s series of military strikes a “declaration of war” and vowed a forceful response, as Israeli fighter jets hit key nuclear and military sites deep inside Iranian territory early Friday, including senior personnel and the country’s main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.
In a Friday letter to the United Nations Security Council, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would “respond decisively and proportionally,” and urged the Council to “immediately address” the attacks. Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed new top commanders to replace those killed in the strikes.
A fresh round of attacks on Natanz was reported by Iranian state media at 1:50 p.m. local time Friday. Several local reports said explosions were heard in the northwestern city of Tabriz, near the city’s main airport. No further details were available. The Israeli military has not commented on the reports so far.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had launched airstrikes against “dozens of targets across Iran related to the nuclear program.”
According to Iranian media, at least 78 people were killed and 329 injured in Tehran alone on Friday. Majid Farshi, governor of East Azerbaijan province, announced that Israeli strikes in Tabriz killed eight people and injured 12 others. The overall death toll across Iran remains unconfirmed.
Israel’s strikes
Iranian media first reported at around 3:30 a.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET Thursday) that explosions were taking place in Tehran.
Al-Alam, the Iranian state television network, reported that the headquarters of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), located in Tehran, were among the targets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility, in Natanz.
“We are at a crucial moment in the history of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a televised message early Friday, adding that Israeli pilots are striking dozens of targets across Iran, “including nuclear targets, ballistic missile plants and Iranian military structures.” Netanyahu said that Iran has enriched enough uranium for nine nuclear bombs and that it had recently moved to advance weaponization.
“We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli strikes targeted at least six military bases around Tehran, the New York Times reported.
The Israeli military published details of its strikes on the Natanz nuclear facility, which it said was the largest uranium enrichment site in Iran, adding that it had been working for years to produce nuclear weapons and contains the infrastructure needed for military-grade enrichment. In a statement, the military said its strikes destroyed the sites underground section, which contains “a multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms, and other supporting infrastructure.”
The strikes also damaged “critical infrastructure enabling the site’s continued operation and advancement of the Iranian regime’s project to obtain nuclear weapons,” the statement added.
According to Iranian news agency Mehr, several explosions were heard in Iran’s western city of Kermanshah on Friday afternoon around 4:25 p.m local time.
Meanwhile, a security official in Isfahan province, Akbar Salehi, told the semiofficial Mehr News Agency that authorities were assessing the damages at Natanz after the Israeli attacks.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced that the attack on Natanz “caused damage to various parts of the complex.” The organization did not explicitly acknowledge a radioactive leak within the site, but added that “no radioactive or chemical contamination has leaked outside of the site.”
The early morning attack, which the Israeli military described as an “opening strike,” also targeted high-level military personnel, to decapitate Iran’s security brass.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that IRGC commander in chief Hossein Salami had been killed in the strike.
Head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami speaks during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Tehran, May 15, 2025. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Iranian state TV said that among the targets were senior IRGC commander Gholamali Rashid as well as nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, and Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi. Tasnim later reported that Rashid, Abbasi and Tehranchi had all been killed.
Tasnim also reported Friday morning local time that Mohammed Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, was also killed as a result of the Israeli strikes. Khamenei adviser, Ali Shamkhani, was severely injured, Nour News reported. The strikes had targeted his home, and he is currently hospitalized in Tehran.
Iranian drones intercepted
Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin said Iran launched more than 100 drones toward Israel shortly after the Israeli air force conducted strikes on Iran. The Israeli military later said it had “control over the situation.”
Israeli media said the air defense shot down most of the drones before they entered Israeli airspace. After sirens sounded in Jordan, the Jordanian military said it intercepted several drones that entered its airspace.
This comes after the Iranian military in a statement early Friday vowed retaliation against Israel and the United States, saying both countries “will pay a huge cost.”
Iran’s army commander, Abdolrahim Mousavi, said on Friday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had ordered a response to what he described as the “criminal and aggressive” Israeli actions against Iran.
“The armed forces have been ordered by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to impose severe punishment on the commanders, perpetrators, and supporters of this aggression, and the blood of the martyrs will not remain on the ground, God willing, with the help of God Almighty,” Mousavi said in a statement carried by the Mehr News Agency.
Nationwide internet restrictions were imposed Friday, citing “extraordinary conditions” in the country, per a statement from the communications ministry carried by ISNA news agency.
اولین تصاویر از انفجارهای تهران لحظاتی پیش pic.twitter.com/wDEVJftqda
— خبرگزاری تسنیم 🇮🇷 (@Tasnimnews_Fa) June 13, 2025
Trump: “It will only get worse”
Some 10 hours after the Israeli strikes began, US President Donald Trump said on Friday morning local time that he had been informed beforehand that Israel was preparing to launch strikes against Iran.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table,” Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier. “We will see. There are several people in leadership in Iran that will not be coming back.”
The US leader also told Baier that CENTCOM, which oversees US military deployments in the region, was on high alert as they await Iran’s response to the attack and said that the United States is ready to defend Israel in case of an Iranian retaliation.
On Iran reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, Trump followed up with a post on his Truth Social account saying that he had repeatedly asked Tehran to agree to a deal. “I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know.” he wrote.
“They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!,” Trump added in the post, calling on Iran to “make a deal before there is nothing left.”
In a follow up post, Trump wrote, “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!”
Citing Iranian state television, the New York Times reported that Iran said it will not participate in the next round of nuclear talks with the United States, set to take place Sunday in Oman, “until further notice.”
The United States, for its part, has denied any involvement in the Israeli operation. On Thursday night local time, a US defense official told Al-Monitor, “We are aware of the strikes. No US involvement, no US assistance.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, “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.”
He added, “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. 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.”
Expected retaliation
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a state of emergency across the country, following what he described as “Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran.”
Israel’s Home Front Command issued new guidelines, including a ban on educational activities, public gatherings, and most work, with exceptions for essential services. All classes and events scheduled for Friday have been canceled, including the Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, which had been expected to draw 60,000 attendees.
The United States withdrew embassy staff from Iraq on Wednesday, citing the security situation in the region.
Update: June 13, 2025. This developing story has been updated since its initial publication.