Israel attacks Iran with bombing waves, assassinates Revolutionary Guard commander, and targets nuclear scientists

Israeli warplanes attacked sites in the Iranian capital at dawn on Friday. An Al Jazeera correspondent reported hearing loud explosions in various parts of Tehran. Tasnim News Agency reported that the Israeli attack resulted in the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami. Israel's Channel 13 reported that the attack included assassination attempts on the Iranian Chief of Staff, Revolutionary Guard commanders, and nuclear scientists. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Israeli military aircraft are continuing their bombing and have so far launched four waves of attacks on Iran.

The Walla news website quoted Israeli security sources as saying there was a strong possibility that the Iranian General Staff, including the Chief of Staff and nuclear scientists, were eliminated in the first strike. Meanwhile, a military source told Israeli Army Radio that "Israel carried out its operation in a neighborhood where senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard reside." Channel 13 quoted Israeli military officers as saying that "the strike may have achieved better results than expected."

Israel's Channel 12 reported that the attacks on Iran targeted military leaders, military headquarters, nuclear facilities, bases, missile platforms, and scientists.

In the same context, Axios quoted an Israeli official as saying that the Israeli strike targeted several senior Iranian military leaders and top nuclear scientists.

The Israeli military announced that Tel Aviv had launched what it called "Operation Rising Lion," carrying out what it described as an opening strike in the heart of Iran with dozens of aircraft. It emphasized that assassinations in Iran are a key component of the initial strike, as it put it. An Israeli security source also confirmed that the opening strike included air defense targets and surface-to-surface missiles.

Attack for days

CNN quoted an Israeli source as saying, "This is not a one-day attack. We are planning multiple rounds of attacks on Iran."

The source added, "The Israeli government saw an opportunity to carry out this attack militarily and diplomatically."

Channel 13 reported, citing a senior Israeli official, that Tel Aviv is preparing for several days of fighting. Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded across Israel.

In this context, the newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Israel is attempting to assassinate senior officials in Tehran. Channel 12 reported that senior Israeli officials were transferred to a safe location following the assassination attempt on senior Iranian officials, indicating that the goal of the Israeli operation was to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the moment as "a pivotal moment in Israel's history," noting that the goal of this unprecedented operation was to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz declared an immediate state of emergency and closed airspace following what he described as a "preemptive strike" against Iran. He predicted that Israel and its residents would be subjected to a missile and drone attack in the very near future due to what he called "Israel's actions in Iran."

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the security cabinet unanimously approved the decision to attack Iran. Channel 12 reported that government ministers signed a security clearance form to prevent leaks before the attack on Iran.

Israeli Army Radio reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz are overseeing the attack on Iran from a fortified underground headquarters.

For its part, Israel's Channel 14 reported that the decision to launch the attack was made by Netanyahu and Katz three days ago.

The Jerusalem Post, citing Israeli officials, reported that Tel Aviv has detected that "Iran is on the verge of achieving a nuclear breakthrough within a few days."

Israeli radio confirmed that Israel is fully coordinating with the United States.

Sites and assassinations

In Tehran, the Revolutionary Guards confirmed the deaths of their commander, Major General Hossein Salami, along with a number of his colleagues and guards, in the Israeli attack on the Revolutionary Guards headquarters while Salami was carrying out sensitive duties to protect the nation's security, according to an Iranian statement.

The Revolutionary Guards vowed that "the Zionist entity will pay a heavy price for the crime committed with the knowledge of the terrorist American regime," and that "the enemies should expect harsh and humiliating revenge for their crimes against Iran and the Iranians."

Tasnim News Agency confirmed the assassination of nuclear scientists Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi in the ongoing Israeli attack on Iran.

Iranian media reported that Ali Shamkhani, advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, was injured in the Israeli attack and taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Iranian television also reported unconfirmed reports of the assassination of Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, president of Islamic Azad University, and Major General Gholam Ali, commander of the armed forces' Khatam al-Anbia headquarters.

For its part, Fars News Agency reported that the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, had been killed, after reports that he was in the operations room and unharmed.

Iranian television announced the killing of five civilians and the wounding of 20 others in the Narmak area, east of Tehran, as a result of the Israeli attack.

The Israeli bombing targeted the vicinity of the Tabriz refinery in northwestern Iran, according to Iranian media, while Israeli media reported a fourth wave of bombing in Tabriz and Kermanshah, targeting missile and drone manufacturing facilities.

Iranian media reported that the Israeli attack also targeted the Ahmadi Roshan uranium enrichment site in Natanz.

The Iranian News Agency reported that the explosions targeted several residential neighborhoods east of the capital. Iranian television reported that columns of smoke were rising from the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran.

Iranian television reported "unconfirmed reports of the Zionist entity attacking Natanz, Khandab, and Khorramabad."

In this context, Tasnim News Agency reported that explosions were heard in several Iranian provinces, including Kermanshah and Lorestan.

Iranian television also reported that some of the sounds heard in Tehran were related to Israeli attacks and others to air defense systems.

The New York Times quoted an Iranian official as saying that the Shahrak Shahid Mahallati neighborhood in Tehran, where senior military commanders live, was subjected to an Israeli attack. The official added that three residential buildings in the neighborhood were destroyed.

Iran's Nour News Agency reported hearing violent explosions in the Mahallati area, northeast of the capital, Tehran.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran reported hearing six large explosions across the Iranian capital early Friday morning.

Correspondent Omar Hawash explained that the sounds of explosions were coming from eastern Tehran, where the Parshit military site and other Iranian Ministry of Defense sites are located, and from the southwest of the Iranian capital, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites are located.

The Public Relations Department at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran announced the suspension of all flights from the airport. Israel's Channel 12 reported that civilian flights on the Tel Aviv route were diverted to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. An Iraqi government source also reported that Iraqi airspace was closed to all air traffic.

Source: Al Jazeera + American press + Israeli press