CNN
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Israel launched a strike against Iran early on Friday, targeting nuclear programs and long-range missile capabilities, and threatening to lean the Middle East towards a wider conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation was “attacked by the head of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program,” and said its targets include Natanz, Iran’s nuclear scientists and Iran’s main enrichment facility in Iran’s ballistic missile program.
“Some time ago, Israel launched Operation Raisinglion, a military operation targeted to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said at its television address.
“This operation lasts for a number of days as necessary to remove this threat.”
According to Iran’s state-run media outlet IRNA, repeated explosions were heard in Tehran, but the country temporarily closed airspace in its capital.
Before dawn on Friday, the sirens rang in Jerusalem before Israel declared a special emergency, shutting down schools and banning social gatherings and non-essential jobs. An Israeli source told CNN that they are supporting it for important Iranian retaliation.
Israeli military officials told the briefing that Israel has launched dozens of strikes in “preemptive, accurate, combined attacks” in various parts of Iran.
Iran’s top military leaders and senior nuclear scientists were targeted in the opening strike, and “there is a greater possibility that they have been eliminated,” an Israeli security source told reporters.
Another source familiar with the details said that Israeli officials have been moved to “secret locations” after Israeli officials tried to eliminate Iranian officials.
The United States was not involved in the strike, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel “advised” the United States that they “believe that action is necessary for self-defense.” Previously, President Donald Trump had warned about the possibility of a “massive conflict” in the Middle East that could “quickly” occur.
Trump convened a cabinet-level meeting Thursday evening. This was expected to focus on the US response to developing events in Iran, two sources that White House officials and well-versed in the planning spoke to CNN.
Friday’s strike came shortly after Tehran said it would strengthen its nuclear activity after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution that the country was not compliant with its non-proliferation commitment, a senior US official told CNN.
Israeli officials said Israeli national security cabinet met throughout the night leading up to the attack in Iran.
Israel has closed airspace until further notice, according to the country’s Ministry of Transport.
This is a developing story and will be updated.