From left to right: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen in Jerusalem, on June 11, 2025. (Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP)
Israel announced Friday it had carried out an initial series of "preemptive strikes'" against Iran's military and nuclear targets, suspected of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, stating that its operation would last "as many days as necessary."
This attack comes as negotiations begun in mid-April between the United States and the Islamic Republic over Iran's nuclear program are at a standstill. Fears of an imminent Israeli strike against Iranian sites had been growing for several days.
"Following a preemptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, declaring a state of emergency across the territory.
According to a military source, Israel carried out "dozens" of strikes on installations of the Iranian nuclear program and other military sites across Iran.
The Israeli army indicated that the "first phase" of the military operation against Iran was completed. However, it will last "as many days as necessary," warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He specified that the uranium enrichment site at Natanz (center) had been targeted.
Iranian state television had previously reported 'loud explosions' at different points in the capital, without providing details on the sites hit.
Existential threat
Traffic at the Imam Khomeini International Airport in the suburbs of Tehran was interrupted, but air defense is operating "at 100% of its capacity," Iranian television pointed out.
Oil prices soared over 6% on Friday following the strike, raising concerns of significant disruptions to oil supplies.
Israel told the United States that striking Iran was "necessary for its defense," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, warning Iran not to "target American interests."
An American official emphasized that the U.S. was not involved in this strike.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who resumed indirect talks with Iran over its nuclear program after returning to power, warned Thursday that Israel might soon strike Iranian nuclear sites.
Tehran does not recognize Israel, and its nuclear program is considered an existential threat by the country.
"My entire government has been instructed to negotiate with Iran (...) but first they must completely abandon hope of having nuclear weapons," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Previously, he acknowledged that an Israeli strike against Iran "could very well happen," and indicated that the risk of a "massive conflict" in the Middle East had led the U.S. to reduce its diplomatic personnel in the region, particularly in Iraq.
'Non-negotiable' right
Tehran threatened Wednesday to strike American military bases in the Middle East in case of conflict following a possible failure of negotiations, with a sixth cycle scheduled for Sunday in Muscat under Omani mediation.
The West and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies, asserting that its nuclear program is for civilian use only.
Uranium enrichment is the main sticking point in these discussions aimed at regulating Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting the heavy sanctions imposed on the country.
Washington demands that Iran completely abandon it, which Tehran refuses, considering it a "non-negotiable" right.
Iran expressed its determination to significantly increase its enriched uranium production, announcing the upcoming construction of a new enrichment site, in response to Thursday's resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemning it for "non-compliance" with its nuclear obligations.
Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed state enriching uranium to the 60% level, according to the IAEA, close to the 90% threshold needed to make an atomic bomb.
In 2015, Iran and major powers reached a historic agreement after three years of tough negotiations. Iran had agreed to forgo its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions that crippled its economy. But Donald Trump reneged on this agreement unilaterally in 2018, during his first term.
