Hours earlier and again Friday evening, Israel launched strikes across Iran that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing several top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
As the Iranian rockets descended on Israel, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to let Israel "escape safely from this great crime."
The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. For years, Israel had threatened such a strike and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear program.
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Here's the latest:
Witnesses post videos of Iranian missile attack
Iranian missiles could be seen from as far away as Beirut, leaving behind yellow streaks like comets as they descended on Israel.
And in other videos posted on social media, the missiles burned fast through the air above Jerusalem’s Old City.
Associated Press journalists reported the rumbling of explosions sounded like a thunderstorm.
5 wounded in Israel by Iranian attack
Israeli paramedics report five people injured in the Tel Aviv area — one in moderate condition and four lightly injured by shrapnel.
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptor rockets light up the night sky
Video taken by AP journalists shows multiple Israeli interceptor rockets slicing through the night sky over Tel Aviv, trailing columns of smoke and occasionally exploding in balls of yellow fire. Some of the Iranian rockets hurtled downward in a straight line, and a few could be seen impacting in flashes of orange that lit up the glittering skyline of Israel’s commercial hub.
Iran’s supreme leader vows revenge for Israeli attacks
In a recorded message to the nation broadcast as Iranian missiles flew toward Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the military was prepared to counterattack.
“Don’t think that they (Israel) hit and it’s over. No. They started the work and started the war. We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” he said.
Air raid sirens sound across Israel amid Iranian missile attack
The rumble of explosions could be heard throughout Jerusalem, and Israeli TV stations showed plumes of smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The army said dozens of missiles were launched.
The army has ordered residents across the country to move into bomb shelters.
Israel says Iran has launched missiles
The Israeli military’s Home Front Command has instructed people to move into shelters ahead of an expected Iranian missile attack.
The army says Iran has launched missiles, and the safety order applies to the entire country.
Israel’s Channel 13 TV says the missiles are expected to take about 10 minutes to arrive.
Israeli military briefing cut short by possible incoming Iranian attack, official says
Israel’s military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said that despite Israel’s attack, “Iran has capability to hurt Israel’s civilian front in a meaningful way.”
Defrin’s briefing was cut short. An Israeli military official says this was due to an incoming Iranian attack on central Israel. The official spoke on condition pending a formal announcement.
Israel claims striking an Iranian nuclear site in Isfahan; Iran does not immediately acknowledge
The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country’s atomic program.
France says conference on two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is postponed
French President Emmanuel Macron says a top-level U.N. conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians has been postponed because of renewed tensions in the Mideast.
France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-host the conference in New York next week, and Macron had been scheduled to attend.
Macron said Friday it was postponed for logistical and security reasons and because some Palestinian representatives couldn’t come to the event.
US fighter jets take flight to protect personnel and installations in Middle East
American fighter jets are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, according to a U.S. official. The official spoke Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.
It comes at the same time as the Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean. A second destroyer also has begun moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House.
Iran reports explosions at another nuclear site
The Fordo nuclear enrichment facility is buried hundreds of meters underground.
Nour News, which is close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported on its Telegram channel that two explosions were heard from the area nearby.
Separately, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that a radar site near Tabriz was attacked, according to an official in the East Azerbaijan province.
Majid Farshi told IRNA that 11 military sites in East Azerbaijan province have been attacked, and that 18 people were killed, including one Red Crescent aid worker.
Israel’s military orders all residents to be close to protected areas and minimize movement
Israelis are on high alert bracing for a larger response from Iran, which has already launched over 100 drones toward Israel in retaliation for Friday's attacks.
Israel says it intercepts missile launched from Yemen, setting off sirens in Jerusalem
There were no immediate reports of casualties or fallen shrapnel in Israel. A loud boom could be heard in the Holy City, possibly from Israeli interceptor fire.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen did not immediately claim the attack.
A new wave of attacks appears to have begun in Tehran
Civilian witnesses told The Associated Press they heard what sounded like loud explosions in neighborhoods in the capital’s east, west and center, while an AP journalist in the city’s north also heard a blast.
Air defense systems were heard going off Friday night in Tehran. There was no immediate acknowledgement from authorities.
Netanyahu says Israel informed US before attacking Iran
In a video statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel told the U.S. about its plans to attack Iran in advance. “They knew about the attack. What will they do now? I leave that to President Trump.”
Netanyahu says Israel’s attack on Iran was months in the making
Netanyahu said he ordered an attack plan in November 2024, shortly after the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — one if Iran’s strongest proxies. That’s when Israel forecasted Iran would start rapidly advancing its nuclear program.
In a video statement circulated to journalists Friday evening, Netanyahu said the attack was supposed to happen in April but was postponed.
Iran summons Swiss ambassador over Israeli attacks
Since Tehran and Washington don’t have diplomatic relations, Switzerland has looked out for America’s interests in Iran since the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says Isa Kameli, an assistant to foreign minister, told the Swiss ambassador that Friday’s Israeli attacks were a crime and said, “It is not possible to imagine that invasion acts by the Zionist regime have taken place without cooperation and coordination and at least green light from the U.S.”
Israel’s military begins stationing troops in ‘all combat arenas’
The military said it was calling up reservists from different military units as “part of preparations for defense and offense” as its attack on Iran continues.
The move comes as Israel braces for further counterattacks from Iran or Iranian proxy groups on Israel’s borders.
Iran says Israel will ‘deeply regret’ its attack
Israel’s targeted killings of officials and scientists were “clear instances of state terrorism,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council requesting an emergency meeting.
In the letter obtained by The Associated Press, he said Iran affirms its right to self defense under the U.N. Charter.
“This right is non-negotiable,” Araghchi said. “Israel will come to deeply regret this reckless aggression and the grave strategic miscalculation it has made.”
The Iranian minister urged the Security Council, which will meet at 3 p.m. in New York, to “take urgent and concrete measures to hold the Israeli regime fully accountable for its crimes.”
Israel seals off the West Bank
Israel closed all checkpoints to the Israeli-occupied West Bank Friday as the country attacked Iran, a military official said Friday. The move sealed off entry and exit to the territory, meaning that Palestinians could not leave without special coordination.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military recommendations.
Around 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank under Israeli military rule. With the world’s attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank have grown in size, frequency and intensity.
The crackdown has also left tens of thousands of Palestinians unemployed, as they can no longer work the mostly menial jobs in Israel that paid higher wages.
In Tel Aviv, an eerie quiet and a cancelled Pride Parade
Many Israelis are hunkered down close to home in Tel Aviv, the country’s economic hub on the Mediterranean coast.
Shops were open but the streets, beaches, and parks were mostly deserted. Earlier Friday, many people had rushed to supermarkets to buy bottled water and other supplies.
The city canceled its annual Pride Parade, which normally draws tens of thousands of people for a march and street party.
Iran is restricting the internet after Israeli attacks
Internet usage in Iran dramatically declined Friday after Iranian authorities restricted access in the country following the Israeli attacks, according to internet-access advocacy group Net Blocks.org.
The group shared the information in a graph posted to X Friday, saying their data corroborated “user reports of poor service.”
Expert says Iran poses a bigger threat to US military than Israel
Iran’s current capabilities are potentially “more threatening to the U.S. military than to Israel,” said Fabian Hinz, an air warfare expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.
That’s because there are multiple U.S. military bases in the region and Iran has a “huge arsenal” of shorter range missiles developed specifically to target U.S. bases as well as “lots of anti-ship capabilities,” Hinz said.
While Iran fired around 300 ballistic missiles at Israel last year, Hinz said, Tehran did not fire any of their short range missiles which could be used to attack U.S. bases.
“Think of the Iranian shipping threat as similar in quality to the Houthi threat, but much larger in quantity,” Hinz said.
US shifts military resources in Mideast in response Iranian retaliation for Israel's attack
Two U.S. officials said Friday that the Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House.
President Donald Trump is meeting with his National Security Council principals to discuss the situation. The two U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public.
The Hudner is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that is capable of defending against ballistic missiles.
On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
Iran calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting
Iran’s U.N. Mission said it has asked for an emergency meeting of the Security Council following the Israeli attacks.
The emergency session is likely to take place Friday afternoon, the mission said.
Israel told Trump administration of attacks ahead of time
Israel told the Trump administration that large-scale attacks were coming and expected Iranian retaliation would be severe, U.S. officials said, leading the United States to order the evacuations of some nonessential embassy staffers and authorize the voluntary departure of military dependents in the region.
The officials were speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, but it’s not clear if the Iranians would participate, officials said.
Yemen's Houthis condemn Israeli strikes
The political office for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran, saying that Iran has the “right to defend itself and develop its nuclear program.”
“Israel is an aggressive entity that threatens not only Palestine but also the security and stability of the region and the entire nation,” a statement read.
“Israel’s claims about the Iranian nuclear program are baseless, and it has no right to be the region’s policeman, given its nuclear arsenal.”
Israeli consular services close
“Israeli missions around the world will be closed and consular services will not be provided,” according to a statement posted to the websites of Israeli embassies in Berlin, Stockholm and Rome.
The statement, which appeared to come from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged Israelis abroad to avoid displaying Jewish or Israeli symbols in public.
Hamas expresses solidarity with Iran
“We declare our solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of the brutal Zionist aggression, which primarily stems from Iran’s support for the Palestinian people and its significant backing of their honorable resistance fighters,” said Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing.
He also mourned the deaths of senior Iranian leaders and others killed in the strike, condemning the attack as “cowardly.”
Trump calls Israeli strikes on Iran ‘excellent’ and says ‘more to come’
In an interview with ABC News, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Israeli strikes on Iran “excellent” and previewed more attacks.
“I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it,” Trump told ABC on Friday morning. “They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come, a lot more.”
In a further post on the Truth Social platform, Trump added: “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’”
“They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” he wrote Friday.
Oil price surge may be temporary
Oil prices have surged after Israel’s attack on Iran, though analysts say the spike will likely be temporary if the fighting doesn’t spread to other countries and disrupt oil shipments.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 7.8% to $74.89. “When Iran and Israel exchanged attacks previously, prices spiked initially but fell once it became clear that the situation was not escalating,” says Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Israel exports only very small quantities of oil and oil products, and China is Iran’s only customer due to Western sanctions. China could find alternative supplies from other Middle East exporters or Russia.
Iran’s president warns of strong action against Israel
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says his nation would “strongly take action” against Israel after its attacks on the country.
In a televised address Friday, Pezeshkian urged people to unite behind its theocratic government.
The “Islamic Republic of Iran will give a severe, wise and strong answer to the occupier regime,” he said, referring to Israel.
Iran confirms Hajizadeh killed
Iran has confirmed that Israel killed Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s missile program.
Iranian state television made the acknowledgment Friday afternoon. The confirmation came a short time after Israel said its strikes killed Hajizadeh.
Israeli military said it hit ‘underground command center’
The Israeli military said military jets hit a site where Revolutionary Guard officials had “assembled in an underground command center,” allegedly “to prepare for an attack on the state of Israel,” and killed Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh along with two other senior officials.
It did not offer details or information to support the claim.
“Hajizadeh publicly declared his commitment to Israel’s destruction at various events in recent years and played a central role in developing the Iranian regime’s plan for Israel’s destruction,” the Israelis said.
It also linked those killed to an attack on Saudi Arabia in 2019.
Israel claims it killed head of Revolutionary Guard missile program
Israel claimed Friday it killed Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's missile program in Iran.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge his death officially, though rumors of his death had been circulating for some time online.
Hajizadeh is a major commander within the Guard, overseeing its ballistic missile arsenal.
Museums in Iran close after attacks
Museums in Iran are taking the extraordinary step of closing down until further notice after attacks by Israel, and were transferring valuable items to secure vaults, officials announced Friday.
The state-affiliated Borna news agency reported the order by Ali Darabi, Iran’s deputy minister and cultural heritage chief.
Such moves have been done only in extraordinary circumstances in Iran, including the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump urges Iran to reach nuclear deal with Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump is again urging Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear program, warning that Israel’s attacks “will only get worse.”
In his first public comments since the Friday attacks, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end.”
Hezbollah says Israel has ‘crossed all red lines’
The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has accused the U.S. of providing “approval, coordination, and direct cover-up” for Israel’s strikes, adding that Israel “has crossed all red lines, believing that by doing so, it will change the equations.”
In a statement, the group issued condolences to Tehran for the leaders who were killed, but did not threaten to join in the retaliation.
Jordan says strikes push region into more tension
Jordan’s state media says the country’s foreign minister has discussed Israel’s strikes on Iran with his Egyptian counterpart, and warned that the attack pushes the region into more tension and conflict.
Jordan News Agency said the ministers called the strikes a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law.”
The ministers also said Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip should stop to and a two-state solution is needed to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East.
Egypt and Jordan are among Arab countries that signed peace treaties with Israel and have normal relations with it.
EU’s top diplomat calls for de-escalation in the Middle East
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the fresh outbreak of violence in the Middle East “deeply alarming.”
“Europe urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate immediately and refrain from retaliation. A diplomatic resolution is now more urgent than ever, for the sake of the region’s stability and global security,” she said in a post on the Bluesky social media platform.
Iran names replacements for commanders killed in strikes
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has replaced two top military commanders killed in a wave of Israeli strikes on Friday.
State TV said he tapped Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new head of the armed forces, replacing Gen. Mohammad Bagheri. Mousavi was previously the top army commander.
Khamenei chose Mohammad Pakpour to lead the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, replacing Gen. Hossein Salami.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, created after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is one of the main power centers within the country’s theocracy.
Israeli officials say they smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of strikes
Israeli security officials say the country’s Mossad spy agency smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of Friday’s strikes that were used to target its defenses from within.
Two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday to discuss the highly secretive missions. It was not possible to independently confirm their claims. There was no official comment.
The officials said a base for launching explosive drones was established inside Iran and that the drones were activated during Friday’s attack to target missile launchers at an Iranian base near Tehran.
They said Israel had also smuggled precision weapons into central Iran and positioned them near surface-to-air missile systems. They said it also deployed strike systems on vehicles. Both were activated as the strikes began, in order to target Iran’s defenses, the officials said.
--By Josef Federman and Julia Frankel
Credit: AP
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