This is war: First details emerge of Israel's attack on another country's nuclear facilities

The Israeli military says 200 fighter jets are involved in the ongoing strikes on Iran. “More than 100 targets have been hit across Iran,” IDF spokeswoman Effie Defrin said during a live briefing, adding that “more than 330 different munitions” have been dropped.

An Israeli military spokesman said the Israeli strikes were "part of a precise and synchronized operation" and that pilots were "still hitting military and nuclear targets in various parts of Iran."

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Friday morning that Iran had launched more than 100 drones into Israel in the past few hours in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed senior officials.

Meanwhile, the US has distanced itself from Israeli aggression and warned Iran not to attack US bases in the region in retaliation, telling Tehran that Washington was not involved in the Israeli attacks.

"In the last few hours, Iran has launched more than 100 drones towards Israel and all defense systems are working to intercept the threats," said Brig. Gen. Effie Deffrin, the Israeli army's top spokesperson.

It comes after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that Israel would face "severe punishment" for attacking the country, the Daily Mail reports. Ayatollah Khamenei issued a statement confirming that senior military officials and academics were killed in the attack. Israel "has opened its wicked and bloody hand to commit a crime against our beloved country," Khamenei said.

At the same time, the Supreme Leader of the Republic stated that Israel had demonstrated "its evil nature more than ever": "As a result of the enemy attacks, a number of commanders and scientists have been martyred. Their successors and colleagues will immediately continue to carry out their duties, God willing. With this crime, the Zionist regime has brought upon itself a bitter and painful fate, and it will certainly face it."

Israel "opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to commit a crime against our beloved country, showing its evil nature more than ever by targeting residential centers," Khamenei said.

Iran's state news agency IRNA quoted an anonymous official as saying Iran would give a "decisive" response to the Israeli attack.

For his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address that the attacks would continue "for as many days as it takes to eliminate this threat" to Iran's nuclear program.

"The Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime," Netanyahu said. "Israel will never allow those who call for our destruction to develop the means to achieve that goal."

Netanyahu said Israel had struck Iran's main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and the country's ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials.

The Israeli prime minister claims Iran is developing a new plan to destroy Israel after its old plan - a "circle of proxy forces" - failed. He called it an intolerable threat that must be stopped.

Prime Minister Netanyahu later declared the strikes on Iran had been successful, but warned that there would be more: "We will have many more achievements."

People in the Iranian capital Tehran heard another series of explosions on Friday morning, hours after the first attack. It was not immediately clear whether the blasts were caused by air defense systems or another attack.

The New York Times reported that the targets included at least half a dozen military bases around Tehran, residential buildings used by the military, and an Israeli defense official said the strikes likely killed members of Iran's general staff, including the chief of staff and several senior nuclear scientists.

General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, was one of the senior officials killed, Iranian state television reported on Friday. Bagheri is a former senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

IRGC chief Gen. Hossein Salami was also killed in the airstrikes, Iranian state television reported.

General Gholamali Rashid, deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces and a nuclear scientist, Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehrinch, a theoretical physicist and president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran, were also killed by the Israelis.

The IRGC, created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is one of the main power centers in the country's theocracy, the Daily Mail recalls. The corps also controls Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles, which Iran has used twice to strike Israel during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was preparing for retaliatory action from Iran following the strike. "Following the preemptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, missile and drone attacks against the State of Israel and its civilian population are expected in the near future," Katz said in a statement.

Iranian state media IRNA reported that multiple explosions were heard in Tehran. The attack set the IRGC headquarters in Tehran on fire, state television reported on Friday. A reporter on air said he was unable to get closer because of the intensity of the fire.

The attack damaged several sites in the capital, although the scale of the strikes remains unclear, the Daily Mail notes.

Israel's defense minister declared a "special situation" in his country and said schools would be closed on Friday.

The country's military leader, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, warned Iran and its regional allies against retaliating against Israel. "I warn that anyone who tries to challenge us will pay a heavy price," he said.

Emmanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for the Times of Israel, wrote on social media: "The Israel Defense Forces confirms that it has launched an air campaign against Iran's nuclear program. The Israeli Air Force is striking dozens of targets across Iran related to the nuclear program and other military installations," the report said.

The operation, dubbed "Lion Power," says the IDF has enough enriched uranium to build several bombs in a matter of days and needs to take action against this "imminent threat."

Sirens were heard across Israel warning of a possible response from Tehran. Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was evacuated with all flights cancelled.

US sources had previously warned of an imminent attack, which a senior source in the Israeli prime minister's office would neither confirm nor deny. But they told the Daily Mail: "President Trump has said Iran must get rid of the concept of nuclear weapons... 'We agree. It is a global threat.'

The US has announced it is evacuating personnel from the region amid concerns they could be targeted in Iranian retaliation. However, a US spokesman told CNN the US did not participate in or assist in Israel's strikes on Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a White House statement that US forces were not involved and warned Iran against attacking the United States.

"This evening, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in striking Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," Secretary Rubio said. "Israel has told us that it believes these actions were necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not strike U.S. interests or personnel," Rubio added.

Regardless, Washington has issued a security alert for U.S. government personnel in Israel and their families as America braces for possible retaliation from Iran following Friday morning’s strikes. “Due to the current security situation, the U.S. Embassy has issued shelter-in-place instructions to all U.S. government personnel and their families until further notice,” the advisory said. It also said U.S. citizens should “exercise caution and personal security awareness at all times” and know the location of the nearest emergency shelter in case of an emergency, such as a mortar or rocket attack. “The security environment is complex and can change rapidly,” the advisory said.

Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News as the strikes were beginning, said the United States knew about the attack in advance but did not participate in it. He expressed hope that Iran would return to the negotiating table.

The Israeli strikes came days before the sixth round of talks between Iran and the US on Tehran's fast-growing nuclear programme is scheduled for Sunday in Oman, the Daily Mail notes. The new Trump administration is seeking a deal that would halt Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Israel's National Security Cabinet met overnight ahead of the attack on Iran, an Israeli official said. The country closed its airspace until further notice, according to the country's Transportation Ministry.

The New York Times, citing an Iranian source, reported that Tehran has an immediate counterattack plan in case Israel strikes. The response is expected to be as large-scale as the attack Iran launched last October, when it fired more than 200 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles at Israel to overwhelm its air defense systems, sending the entire population into bomb shelters. Most of the missiles were shot down or intercepted, causing limited damage.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. According to the Daily Mail, Tehran has failed to provide the watchdog with a credible explanation for how uranium was found at undeclared sites, despite the agency investigating the matter for years. Nineteen of the 35 countries on the IAEA's governing board voted in favour of the proposal to declare a breach.