Israel strikes Iran: What we know

Attacks continuing after first wave involving more than 200 aircraft and 300 munitions

Israeli army Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, centre, oversees the attack on Iran from an operations room in Jerusalem. EPA

Israel attacked Iran's nuclear sites and military leadership on Friday in a bombing spree that threatens to spark a regional war. An initial wave of simultaneous attacks across the country overnight was followed by limited strikes later on Friday.

Here's what we know so far.

What was hit?

LatestIranian military leaders and nuclear scientists killed in Israeli strikes

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The overnight Israeli strikes hit about 100 targets in the country, including Iran's main nuclear enrichment plant in the central city of Natanz and residential buildings in Tehran.

An Israeli official said the targets included ballistic missile manufacturing sites, missiles ready to be launched towards Israel and air defence systems, with dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missiles destroyed.

Natanz, about 220 kilometres south-east of Tehran, is the country’s main enrichment site. Part of the complex on Iran’s Central Plateau is underground to defend infrastructure from potential air strikes. It operates a number of cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together, to enrich uranium more quickly.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the attack on Natanz was “deeply concerning” but that no increase in radiation levels had been observed so far.

The IAEA said the Bushehr nuclear power plant in south-west Iran was not targeted. Iran's Oil Ministry said crucial refineries and fuel depots were unaffected, with operations continuing nationwide without disruption.

Iranian media reported more strikes on Natanz and on Tabriz on Friday afternoon.

Who was killed?

The leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Maj Gen Hossein Salami, was confirmed dead, as well as army chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and deputy commander in-chief of the armed forces, Maj Gen Gholam Ali Rashid. Iran later announced the commander of the IRGC's aerospace force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, had been killed.

A number of civilians including women and children were killed in strikes on Tehran, Iranian state media reported.

Iran's response

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned “severe punishment” would be directed at Israel, which had “opened its wicked and bloodstained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres”, he said.

The IRGC vowed revenge for Maj Gen Salami's death. The attacks “will not remain unanswered and [Israel] must await harsh and regrettable revenge”, it said in a statement read on state TV.

Israel's military said Iran launched about 100 drones and that its air defences intercepted most of them outside Israeli territory. Neighbouring Jordan said it intercepted drones and missiles that violated its airspace.

Benjamin Netanyahu announces Israel has begun striking Iran

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How did Israel carry out the attacks?

This appears to be the most significant attack on Iran since its 1980s war with Iraq. It pushed the Israeli military to its limits, requiring the use of ageing air-to-air refuellers to position its fighter jets close enough to attack. It was not immediately clear if Israeli jets had entered Iranian air space or fired so-called “stand-off missiles” from over another country.

Israeli military spokesman Brig Gen Effie Defrin said more than 200 air force planes were involved in the strikes, with fighter jets dropping about 330 munitions.

Witnesses in Iraq reported hearing fighter jets overhead at the time of the attack. Israel has previously attacked Iran from over the border in Iraq.

Israel's Mossad spy agency smuggled weapons into Iran before its widespread strikes on Friday, an Israeli security official told The National.

The agency established a base inside Iranian territory that was used to launch “explosive drones”. They were launched during the attack “to target missile launchers at a base near Tehran”.

The potential for an attack had been apparent for weeks as angst built over Iran's nuclear programme. Israeli leaders cast the pre-emptive assault as a fight for the nation's survival that was necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would create nuclear bombs, though it is unknown how close the country is to achieving that.

“It could be a year, it could be within a few months,” Mr Netanyahu said, as he vowed to pursue Israel's attacks for as long as necessary to “remove this threat”.

“This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival."

Impact on air travel

Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their respective airspace after the overnight attacks, forcing some international flights passing over the region to turn back.

Gulf airlines cancelled flights to and from Iran and Israel, as well as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

How have the world and the US reacted?

The Israeli attack sparked almost universal condemnation, with countries calling for restraint and dialogue to resolve the decades-long controversy over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The US, which said it was not involved in the attacks, warned Tehran against hitting American targets in response.

“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”

US President Donald Trump had repeatedly warned Israel against attacking Iran while he attempted to reach a deal with Tehran to stop its nuclear enrichment programme, a proposal the Iranian leadership has rejected as a "red line".

On Friday, Mr Trump warned Iran there was "much more to come". He said in a post on Truth Social: ''I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal ... I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it', but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done.

"I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world, by far, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – and they know how to use it.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned ;severe punishment; would be directed at Israel. Reuters

Mr Trump on Thursday had said he did not believe an attack was imminent but also acknowledged it “could very well happen”. As tension rose, the US pulled some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. Once the attack was under way, the US embassy in Jerusalem issued an alert telling American government workers and their families to shelter in place until further notice.

Mr Rubio said Israel took “unilateral action against Iran” and that Israel advised the US that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.

Mr Trump was scheduled to attend a meeting of his National Security Council later on Friday, when he is expected to discuss the conflict with senior advisers.