Israeli strikes kill Iran’s top military leaders and prompt retaliation

Israel launched a wave of strikes across Iran on Friday that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing at least two top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.

The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal. Hours later, Israel’s military said it had begun intercepting Iranian drones launched in retaliation.

The U.S. is shifting military resources in the Middle East in response to Israel strikes and possible Iran retaliation, officials say.

What to know

Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear sites: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country’s ballistic missile program.

General Hossein Salami was killed: The leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed.

Both sites have been the focus of Trump’s nuclear deal negotiations: Trump said that he warned Netanyahu against launching an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities while diplomatic efforts were underway. On Friday, he again urged Iran to reach a nuclear deal with US, warning attacks ‘will only get worse!’

The attack pushes the region into a new and uncertain phase: The deaths of top Iranian officials also marks a significant blow to Tehran’s governing theocracy and an immediate escalation of the conflict with Israel.

Oil prices are leaping and stocks are falling after Israel’s attack on Iran

Markets are worried that Israel’s attack could escalate further and damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.

The S&P 500 was down 0.7% in early trading Friday and on track for its worst day in more than two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 423 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.8%.

The price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 7.3%. Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil.

Turkey suspends flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan

Turkish Airlines and other local airline operators suspended flights to those countries until Monday due to security concerns, the country’s transportation minister, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, announced on X.

Iraq complains to UN about Israel using its airspace to attack Iran

Early Friday morning, many in Iraq reported hearing warplanes and sounds of explosions that were believed to be the firing of missiles from Iraqi airspace.

The government of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq — which has a close relationship with the United States — also issued a statement condemning Israel’s strikes on Iran.

Egyptian and German foreign ministers warn against regional escalation

Speaking to reporters in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty condemned the “dangerous and unjustified” escalation in light of Israel’s attacks on Iran, warning it could plunge the region into chaos.

Meanwhile, his German counterpart Johann Wadephul expressed concern over Israel’s military strikes and Iran’s retaliatory launch of hundreds of drones toward Israel, calling the developments deeply worrying.

Abdelatty affirmed that nuclear non-proliferation is among top Egyptian policy priorities. Wadenphul, meanwhile, raised concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu calls allied leaders in Germany, India and France

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “The leaders expressed understanding for Israel’s defense needs against the threat of Iranian annihilation.”

He was expected to speak with Trump, Putin and Starmer later in the day. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gidon Saar was also reaching out to European leaders throughout the day.

Israeli intelligence had ‘absolutely exceptional’ knowledge of Iran’s nuclear program, expert says

The strikes showed Israel knew the private addresses of key military leaders and combined that with the ability to hit targets “with precision,” delivering “a tremendous amount of damage” to the nuclear program, said Fabian Hinz, a defense and nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Hinz suggested there are two main ways Iran could respond — by using Hezbollah and air attacks — but indicated both options are limited.

Hezbollah, he said, “is no longer in a position” to fulfill its role as Iran’s forward deterrence after repeated attacks from Israel. There are also questions about the effectiveness of Iran’s missiles, which were largely intercepted during attacks on Israel last year, he said.

Iran calls for emergency Security Council meeting

Iran’s U.N. Mission said it has asked for an emergency meeting of the Security Council following the Israeli attacks.

The emergency session is likely to take place Friday afternoon, the mission said.

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Israeli strikes a blatant provocation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel’s strikes on Iran a “blatant provocation” that violates international law.

In a statement posted on X, Erdogan suggested that the attack was an attempt to divert attention away from Israel’s ongoing actions in Gaza.

“The attacks by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his network of massacre that are igniting our entire region must be prevented,” Erdogan wrote.

Israel told Trump administration of attacks ahead of time

Israel told the Trump administration that large-scale attacks were coming and expected Iranian retaliation would be severe, U.S. officials said, leading the United States to order the evacuations of some nonessential embassy staffers and authorize the voluntary departure of military dependents in the region.

The officials were speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, but it’s not clear if the Iranians would participate, officials said.

Macron calls for all parties to be restrained

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on ” all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and de-escalate” in order “not to jeopardize the stability of the entire region” in a post on X.

Macron, who held an emergency security meeting on Friday morning following Israel’s strikes on Iran, said France is taking all necessary measures to protect its nationals, diplomatic sites and military bases in the region.

Macron said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump as well as leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Germany and Britain about the latest developments.

Hamas expresses solidarity with Iran

“We declare our solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of the brutal Zionist aggression, which primarily stems from Iran’s support for the Palestinian people and its significant backing of their honorable resistance fighters,” said Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing.

He also mourned the deaths of senior Iranian leaders and others killed in the strike, condemning the attack as “cowardly.”

Trump: ‘Second chance’ for Iran

In a further post on the Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump added: “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’”

“They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” he wrote Friday.

Trump calls Israeli strikes on Iran ‘excellent’ and says ‘more to come’

In an interview with ABC News, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Israeli strikes on Iran “excellent” and previewed more attacks.

“I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it,” Trump told ABC on Friday morning. “They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come, a lot more.”

This is a developing story, check back for updates