Israel strikes Iran: what we know
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 13: People hold signs as they protest Israel outside the United States Mission to the United Nations building on June 13, 2025 in New York City. Ambassador Danny Danon issued a statement following Israel's strikes across Iran, which targeted nuclear facilities and killed senior nuclear scientists, top government officials, Iran’s highest-ranking military officer, and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has requested a meeting at the Security Council over the strikes.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP
Israeli airstrikes on Friday hit dozens of targets across Iran, including nuclear sites, as well as killing several top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Iran called the attack "a declaration of war" and threatened to retaliate by opening "the gates of hell" on Israel.
US President Donald Trump — insisting his country was not involved — warned Iran the next planned attacks will be "even more brutal."
International calls for restraint are multiplying, as fears grow the Middle East could be on the threshold of a broader conflict.
Here is what we know:
The attacks started in the early hours of Friday, a day of rest and prayer in Iran, and continued through the day, on various sites.
A key target was a vast underground nuclear site in Natanz, which Israel hit several times, Iranian state television said.
Radiation levels outside the facility "remain unchanged", the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said.
Other important nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were not immediately struck, the IAEA said, citing Iranian authorities.
Top brass killed included the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, and the chief of staff of its armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, with replacements swiftly named by supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The Revolutionary Guards said that its aerospace commander, Amirali Hajizadeh, was also killed. He was in charge of Iran's ballistic missile forces.
Iranian media said several nuclear scientists were killed.
State media said senior Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani was hurt in one of the strikes.
Additional strikes hit sites in Iran's northwest East Azerbaijan province, with 18 people killed there, state news agency IRNA said.
The Israeli raids will "continue as many days as it takes", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said "there is currently no plan to kill" Khamenei and other political leaders.
Internet restrictions were imposed across Iran, the country's communications ministry said, adding they would be lifted "once normalcy returns".
Iran launched some 100 drones in retaliation, according to the Israeli military, which said "most" were intercepted outside Israeli territory.
The bigger concern is Iran's sizable arsenal of ballistic missiles.
Khamenei warned Israel faces a "bitter and painful" fate over the attacks.
His newly appointed Revolutionary Guards chief, Mohammad Pakpour, said that "in retribution... the gates of hell" will be opened on Israel.
Netanyahu said: "We expect to be exposed to several waves of Iranian attacks."
There was a state of emergency declared in Israel, and the country closed many of its embassies around the world, including in Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called the Israeli attacks "a declaration of war" and urged UN Security Council action.
Iran had previously warned it would hit US military bases in the Middle East if conflict occurred. The United States pulled out non-essential personnel from several sites days ahead of the Israeli attack.
Trump's secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the United States would protect its forces in the Middle East.
"Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel," Rubio said.
Trump said Israel fully informed him of its raids ahead of time, but insisted the United States was not involved.
He warned Iran that the "next planned attacks" will be "even more brutal" and said Tehran should cut a deal to roll back its nuclear program "before there is nothing left."
The US leader has repeatedly said he will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
Tehran has long denied seeking atomic bombs, but had been enriching uranium to a level very close to being able to make them.
The United States and Iran had been holding talks on the issue. The next round, scheduled for Sunday in Oman, now looks to be cancelled.
Israel, Trump said, has a lot of military equipment thanks to the United States and "they know how to use it."
Trump came to power vowing not to drag the United States into more wars in the Middle East, but some of his domestic political allies are worried the turn of events could lead to that.
The attack, and likely Iranian response, is fueling international alarm.
Many capitals were urging restraint, fearing the consequences if the Israel-Iran conflict widened and drew in the United States, and if Middle East oil production and shipments were impacted.
The leaders of France, Germany and Britain were to hold a call to discuss the Israeli strikes, Berlin said. The UN's atomic energy agency planned an emergency meeting for Monday.
Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspaces.
Several airlines cancelled flights servicing the region, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air France and Lufthansa.
Others flying through the Middle East, such as Air India, had to turn planes back or reroute.
Oil prices leapt dramatically on Friday, trading sharply up to around $75 a barrel before falling back a little.
Analysts underlined the risk to the 20 percent of the world's crude oil supplies that are shipped through the narrow Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
