(CNN) — Israel struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear, missile and military complex early Friday, in an unprecedented attack that reportedly killed Iran’s top military commander and plunges the wider Middle East into dangerous new territory.
The strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and senior military leaders could be a turning point in the long-running conflict, as Israel braces for a major Iranian retaliation and – with the threat of a wider regional war breaking out now a real risk.
In a televised address to the nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation had “struck at the head of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program” and targets included Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz, Iranian nuclear scientists, and Iran’s ballistic missiles program.
“Moments ago, Israel launched operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel will face “severe punishment” for the attacks, and confirmed that a number of Iranian commanders and scientists had been killed.
Iranian state media reported General Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of Iran’s most powerful figures, was among those killed in the attacks.
Repeated explosions could be heard in Tehran and photos and videos showed what appeared to be apartment buildings damaged or lit up in flames, according to Iranian state media. Iran’s airspace has also been closed, its civil aviation authority said.
Sirens sounded across Jerusalem before dawn Friday as Israel declared a state of special emergency, closing its airspace, shutting schools and banning social gatherings and non-essential work. Israeli sources told CNN they were bracing for a significant Iranian retaliation, and military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said “tens of thousands” of Israeli soldiers were being called up in preparation.
An Israeli source told CNN that Israel was planning to carry out multiple rounds of attacks against Iran, saying: “This is not a one-day attack.”
The United States was not involved in the strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, noting that Israel had “advised” the US that it believed the “action was necessary for its self-defense.” Earlier, President Donald Trump had warned of the possibility of “massive conflict” in the Middle East that could take place “soon.”
Fears of wider war
Analysts and experts have long warned that Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear capabilities could trigger a massive Iranian retaliation and threaten to tip the region into a full-scale war.
And if Israel and Iran become entangled in wider conflict, it could risk drawing in the United States into the fray. The US has long been Israel’s closest ally and biggest weapons supplier — there are currently about 40,000 US troops across the Middle East, including nearly 4,000 US in Iraq and Syria.
Indications of that risk emerged earlier this week as the US ordered the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East as intelligence warnings increased that an Israeli strike on Iran was imminent.
Netanyahu has repeatedly pushed for a military option to stop Iran’s nuclear program, and recent US intelligence reports said that Israel was seeking to capitalize on the destruction inflicted after it bombed Iran’s missile production facilities and air defenses in October.
Experts say an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would also likely spell the end of its nuclear negotiations with the US. A sixth round of indirect talks between the US and Iran was expected to still go ahead as of Thursday, a source familiar with the matter confirms.
The facility at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions was engulfed in flames on Friday, according to social media images geolocated by CNN and Iranian state television.
The nuclear complex in Natanz, a city about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is considered Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility and houses the country’s advanced nuclear program. Analysts say the site is used to develop and assemble centrifuges for uranium enrichment, a key technology that turns uranium into nuclear fuel.
Friday’s strikes came shortly after Tehran said that it would ramp up its nuclear activities due to the International Atomic Energy Agency passing a resolution saying that the country was not in compliance with its non-proliferation commitments, senior US officials told CNN.
Iran oversees a so-called “Axis of Resistance” across the region that includes loyal proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen as well as various militia groups in Iraq and Syria. Since Israel’s war in Gaza began, attacks by those proxy groups have escalated in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Last year Israel and Iran’s years-long cold war erupted into the open with a series of missile strikes on each other. At the time, the US warned Israel not to strike Iran’s energy or nuclear infrastructure. And Iran rushed to downplay the strikes, responding with visually powerful but carefully calibrated retaliation that caused limited damage.
Friday’s operation goes much further than previously seen. CNN’s security analyst Beth Sanner said that removing Salami is akin to taking out the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff: “You can imagine what Americans would do,” she said.
Iran is now “under existential threat” and as such, the Israelis will be expecting “a massive, much bigger retaliation than what they saw last time,” Sanner added.
This is a developing story and will be updated.