RT, 6/12/25
Israel announced a “preemptive” strike in Iran on Friday and declared a state of emergency in anticipation of possible retaliation.
Multiple loud explosions were reported in Tehran, along with missile interceptions.
The IDF said it targeted both military and nuclear sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that a nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz was among the targets.
News organizations reported last month that Israel had discussed potential strikes on Iranian nuclear sites with the United States.
The attack comes after five rounds of U.S.-Iranian talks on Iran’s nuclear program failed to produce a breakthrough. The sixth round of negotiations is scheduled for Sunday in Oman.
- 13 June 202502:00 GMT Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported that the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami has been killed in an Israeli strike. According to unconfirmed reports, other victims include Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Gholam Ali Rashid.
- 01:49 GMT Iranian state media have reported civilian casualties in the capital.
- 1:43 GMT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF has struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz.He added that the strikes, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, will “continue for as many days as it takes to remove the threat” from Iran.
- 01:22 GMT US Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement saying that the United States is not involved in Israel’s “unilateral action against Iran.”
- 01:16 GMT Dozens of aircraft participated in the “opening strike,” hitting “dozens of military targets, including nuclear sites in various regions of Iran,” the IDF said.
- 01:08 GMT The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had “begun preemptive and precise strikes targeting the Iranian nuclear program in order to prevent the Iranian regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate timeframe.”“Over the past few months, intelligence has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said.
- 01:00 GMT Videos from the scene show destruction in residential areas. Unconfirmed reports on Iran-linked Telegram channels claimed that the apartment complexes housed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
- 00:52 GMT Unverified reports on social media show thick clouds of smoke billowing over Tehran. Iranian media have confirmed that loud explosions and air raid sirens were heard in the capital.