The Israeli military’s overnight attack inside Iran killed Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Crops (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, according to multiple Iranian state media reports.
“Major General Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was martyred in the Israeli regime’s attack on the IRGC headquarters,” the Tasnim news agency, associated with the IRGC, reported.
Israeli strikes also killed the senior IRGC commander Gholamali Rashid, along with at least two prominent nuclear scientists — Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi, according to Iranian state TV.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military targeted Iran’s nuclear scientists, ballistic missile sites and Natanz, one of the country’s top enrichment facilities.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” Netanyahu said in a Friday morning video statement.
Netanyahu said the operation is dubbed “Rising Lion” and warned that it will “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that Israel “should anticipate a harsh punishment. The strong hand of the Islamic Republic will not let them go.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive” to strike Iran’s rapidly expanding nuclear program.
“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 in a statement.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that it was in contact with Iranian authorities and confirmed that Natanz was hit. The watchdog, which is based in Austria, criticized Iran earlier on Thursday, saying that Tehran has kept up enriching uranium to near weapon-grade levels and has not complied with its nonproliferation obligations.
Big explosions could be heard in Tehran along with smoke coming out of some of the buildings.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is not “involved” in the attack and that the administration’s top priority is “protecting American forces in the region.”
“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,” Rubio said in a statement late Thursday. “Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
President Trump has not commented on the developments. He has a National Security Council meeting at 11 a.m. on Friday, according to the White House.
Trump previously said that Israeli strikes against Iran have the potential to derail Washington’s nuclear talks with Tehran.
“As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think that would blow it. Might help it, actually. But also, could blow it,” said Trump, who has previously warned Netanyahu to refrain from military action against Iran in fear of it running the negotiations with Iran.
So far, the U.S. has completed five rounds of nuclear talks with Iran, led by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Witkoff is planning to meet with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday for the sixth round of discussions in Muscat, Oman on Sunday, a U.S. official said Thursday morning.
The two sides still appear to be far apart on striking a deal as Iran wants to keep enriching uranium, a red line for the U.S. side.
Israeli strikes come as the administration ordered a downsizing of the number of diplomats and military dependents in the Middle East.
“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place. We’ll see what happens, Trump said Wednesday. “We’ve given notice to move out and we’ll see what happens.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said that if Tehran’s discussions with the U.S. go sideways and conflict with Washington arises, Iran would strike U.S. military bases in the region.
