Israeli officials declared a state of emergency after a “pre-emptive” attack on Iran. Local Iranian media reported a series of explosions in Tehran, amid heightened tensions with the US over the nuclear deal. Trump had threatened to attack Iran if no deal was reached on uranium enrichment.
The Israeli military stated that struck “dozens” of military and nuclear facilities, which allegedly had enough material to produce 15 nuclear bombs.
Top US diplomats have denied any involvement in the strikes reported in the early hours of Friday. On Thursday, however, US President Donald Trump was seen announcing that Israeli strikes over Iran 'could happen', but later reiterated the desire for a peaceful resolution to the escalations.
See Also: Middle East Crisis: Israel's Iran Strikes & Generals Killed | Video
While Iran’s air defence systems remain on high alert, Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, termed this operation a “historic campaign unlike any other,” but has also asked citizens to remain prepared for an Iranian retaliation.
In a statement, the army chief said, “I can’t promise absolute success – the Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response, the expected toll will be different to what we are used to.”
Unconfirmed reports from Iranian state media suggest the Israeli strike not only targeted Iran’s primary nuclear facilities but also reportedly killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, resulting in anticipation of a strong retaliation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued a warning to Iran not to retaliate against Israeli aggression by targeting American bases. This comes just days after the US was seen withdrawing troops from across the Middle East, citing “dangerous” circumstances.
Just before Israel’s offences began, Iran and the United States had agreed on holding a sixth round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme in Oman.
Iraq, too, responded with a complete closure of its airspace on Friday, suspending all air traffic across Iraqi airports.
