Israeli military says it
launched a wave of strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites in a major escalation against Tehran.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military operation will continue as long as necessary.
Iranian authorities suspend flights at Tehran’s international airport, as news outlets report that residential buildings have been struck in the Iranian capital.
The strikes in Iran have come shortly after US President Donald Trump said Washington was committed to diplomacy with Tehran.
IRGC says ready to respond despite killing of its chief
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps eulogises its slain chief Hossein Salami who was killed by Israel, saying that he was at the “forefront” of defending the country.
“Despite this brutal crime, the noble and revolutionary nation of Iran … is assured that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command with authority and intelligence, along with other armed forces and fighters of the Islamic nation, is ready to respond decisively to the violations of the Zionist enemy,” the IRGC said in a statement.
Israeli military has carried out 5 waves of strikes on Iran: Report
An unnamed Israeli military official has told the Times of Israel newspaper that it has carried out five waves of strikes on targets across Iran.
Hundreds of strikes have been carried out in total, with at least eight locations targeted.
China warns citizens in Israel to prepare for potential attacks
China has issued security situation advisories to its citizens in Israel and Iran, warning those in Israel to prepare for possible missile and drone attacks.
The Chinese embassy in Israel told citizens there on Friday to strengthen their security precautions, avoid going out unnecessarily or to areas surrounding military units and sensitive institutions as the “security situation on the ground is complex and severe”.
In a separate notice, the Chinese embassy in Iran also advised citizens and enterprises based there to pay close attention to developments and enhance their security awareness and precautions.
The Israeli military announced earlier that the country’s civil and public security level had been raised to “essential activity”.
“The guidelines include: a ban on educational activities, gatherings, and workplaces, except for essential businesses,” the military said.
Israel’s Transportation Ministry has confirmed that it has also closed the country’s airspace for arrivals and departures until further notice.
US envoy’s cryptic message before Israeli attack
About 30 minutes before Israel started its first wave of strikes in Tehran, Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, wrote on X: “At our Embassy in Jerusalem and closely following the situation. We will remain here all night. ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!'”
The comment was in response to a post by the US State Department from hours earlier saying that American embassies in the region had been put on high alert.
Israeli military commander says country at ‘point of no return’ after Iran attack
Israel’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, said the military launched its attacks on Iran as Israel had reached a “point of no return”.
Describing the early morning strikes on Iran as a “fight to preserve our existence”, Zamir said the military launched the attacks as it could not “wait for another moment to act”.
He also issued this warning: “Anyone who tries to challenge us will pay a heavy price”.
Iran attacks may embolden Israel’s critics in Washington
Over the past few weeks, polar opposites on the right and left ideological spectrum of US politics have warned Trump to resist being dragged by Israel into war with Iran.
Close allies of the US president, including influential conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have made the case that conflict with Tehran would go against Trump’s “America First” agenda.
“Americans don’t want to bomb Iran because the secular government of Israel says that Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear bomb any day now,” Taylor Greene said in a social media post yesterday.
“We’ve been told that for the past 20 years.”
Israel’s first wave of strikes against Iran came less than three hours after Trump reiterated his commitment to diplomacy with Tehran.
Support for Israel in the US political establishment remains formidable, but it has been showing cracks in recent years, both in public opinion and among politicians, particularly progressive Democrats.
Conflict with Iran, however, will cement views on the right that Israeli and US interests are not one and the same, and could open the door for the so-called “America Firsters” to start questioning the alliance altogether.
Unconditional backing for Israel may start to slip in both major US parties.
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.