KLIK SAJA - On Friday, June 13, Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Iran, claiming to target the "heart" of the country’s nuclear program.
According to Iranian state media, the strikes killed Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with several high-ranking military officials and nuclear scientists. Civilian casualties were also reported, including children.
The Israeli military stated that Iran had launched approximately 100 drones toward Israel earlier that morning.
However, Israeli media reported that all drones were successfully intercepted, prompting the Israeli government to declare a national state of emergency.
The United States has denied any involvement in the operation. Multiple strategic locations were reportedly targeted, including Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility.
Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, around 3:30 AM local time with state television confirming that residential areas in the city were hit. Additional blasts were also reported in the northeastern outskirts of Tehran.
In Israel, residents were awakened by air raid sirens and emergency phone alerts around the same time.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed they had struck “dozens of military targets, including nuclear facilities, in various regions of Iran.”
A few hours after the initial wave of attacks, an explosion was reported at the Natanz nuclear facility—located approximately 225 kilometers south of Tehran—according to Iranian state media.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed that the Natanz facility had indeed been struck.
Iranian authorities assured the IAEA that there had been no rise in radiation levels at the site.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the offensive—named Operation Rising Lion—as "a precision military campaign to counter the Iranian threat to Israel’s survival.
" He emphasized that the operation would "continue for as long as necessary to eliminate the threat."
“In recent months, Iran has taken unprecedented steps to weaponize enriched uranium,” Netanyahu warned.
