Israel-Iran strikes latest: Natanz nuclear site targeted and Revolutionary Guards chief feared dead
Israel targeted a dozen sites across Iran in pre-dawn strikes, reportedly hitting its nuclear programme and long-range missile capabilities and killing military commanders.
The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Hossein Salami, was feared dead in the attack, along with several top military leaders and two nuclear scientists, Iranian state media outlets reported.
Explosions were heard northeast of the Iranian capital of Tehran in the early hours as the news broke, state-run Nour News reported.
UN nuclear watchdog IAEA confirmed that the Natanz nuclear site, located about 225km south of Tehran, was among the targets.
US president Donald Trump has said on Fox News he was aware of Israel’s plans in Iran but denied America’s involvement in the attack.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address on YouTube that the attacks would continue “for as many days at it takes to remove this threat”.
Israel had long threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities to prevent it from acquiring an atomic bomb.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed a “severe punishment” in retaliation, saying Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” and it would receive “a bitter fate for itself”.
