(NewsNation) — Israel launched a wave of strikes across Iran on Friday targeting its nuclear program and military sites, killing at least two top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries.
Iran quickly retaliated, sending a swarm of drones at Israel as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of “severe punishment.”
The attack comes as tensions reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. On Thursday, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency, for the first time in 20 years, censured Iran for not working with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more advanced ones.
Israel launches ‘preemptive strikes’ on Iran
The Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement Thursday that it “launched a preemptive, precise, combined offensive to strike Iran’s nuclear program” and that the strikes were “on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.”
“Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of m*** destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world. The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past,” the IDF said.
Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that.
Trump urges Iran to ‘make a deal’ with Israel
President Donald Trump on Friday responded to Israel’s strikes on Iran, calling on Tehran to reach a deal to avoid further escalation.
“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “I told them, in the strongest terms, ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they were, they just couldn’t get it done.”
He added: “Now everyone is dead, and it’s only going to get worse but there is still time to stop this slaughter – before the next attacks, which are expected to be even more brutal. Iran must reach a deal. Just do it, before it’s too late. God bless you all!”
US ‘not involved’ in Israel strikes on Iran
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday the U.S. was not involved in the attack.
“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 U.S. interests or personnel,” Rubio said in a statement.
Trump acknowledged several weeks ago that he had warned Netanyahu against taking any action that could threaten negotiations.
Trump is expected to hold a Cabinet meeting Friday morning to address the escalating crisis.
The Hill and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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