WASHINGTON
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced early Friday that his country launched an operation against Iran.
"Moments ago, Israel launched Operation ‘Rising Lion,’ a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.
"This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” he added.
Netanyahu claimed that Iran "could produce a nuclear weapon" if not stopped.
“This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival,” he said, adding that Israel "struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program."
'US not involved in strikes against Iran'
Right after Netanyahu's announcement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country was not involved in the strikes against Iran.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.
"Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense," Rubio said in a statement.
Rubio said US President Donald Trump has taken "all necessary steps" to protect American forces and remains in close contact with regional partners.
"Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel," he added.
Amid rising tensions, Trump said Thursday that the US remains committed to a diplomatic resolution to the Iran nuclear issue.
"My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he said on his Truth Social platform.
Following the Israeli strike, the White House announced that Trump will attend a National Security Council meeting Friday morning, without providing further details.
The US Embassy in Israel on Friday directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place "until further notice" as a result of the current security situation.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that the Israeli strikes killed top Iranian military officials, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Gen. Hossein Salami.
Gen. Gholam-Ali Rashid and two nuclear scientists, Mohammad Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi, were also killed during the airstrikes, according to media reports.
Israel will receive 'severe punishment': Iran's supreme leader
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will receive a "severe punishment."
"The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands. It has revealed its malicious nature even more than before by targeting residential areas," Khamenei said.
"By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished," he added.
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for the Armed Forces, said that Israel and the US will “receive a forceful slap."
"A retaliation attack is definite," Shekarchi added.
UN chief 'concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns any military escalation in the Middle East, his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.
"He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear program are underway," Haq added.
Recalling the obligation of UN member states to act in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, Guterres asks both sides to show "maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford."
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said the IAEA is "closely monitoring the deeply concerning" situation in Iran.
"The agency can confirm the Natanz site among the targets. The agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country," Grossi said in a statement.
Israeli airstrikes on Iran 'reckless escalation': US senator
US Sen. Jack Reed on Thursday criticized Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, calling the move a “reckless escalation” that threatens to further destabilize the region.
"Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence," Reed said in a statement.
Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the strikes threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces.
Sen. Chris Murphy said Israel's attack on Iran "clearly intended to scuttle" the Trump administration's negotiations with Iran and risks a regional war that will "likely be catastrophic" for America.
"Iran would not be this close to possessing a nuclear weapon if Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu had not forced America out of the nuclear agreement with Iran that brought Europe, Russia and China together behind the United States to successfully contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
"This is a disaster of Trump and Netanyahu's own making, and now the region risks spiraling toward a new, deadly conflict," said Murphy, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
