Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday in response to fears that the Islamic Republic is nearing the development of nuclear weapons, killing at least two top military officers, and raising the potential for an all-out war between the two adversaries.

In a statement Friday morning, the Israeli Defense Forces say the country cannot take the risk of allowing Iran to develop the bomb. “Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” the IDF said in a post on X. “Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world.”

“The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past,” they say. 

The IDF says that “dozens” of jets took part in attacks on “dozens” of targets within Iran’s territory. 

Addressing the nation shortly after the bombing campaign began, Prime Minister Netanyahu said “Operation Rising Lion” was targeted at those facilities and officials who were involved in Iran’s nuclear development program. He says the “clear and present danger” of Iran’s bomb made the military operation necessary. 

“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz,” Mr. Netanyahu said in his speech. “We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists, working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.”

The attacks appear to have been planned for the last several months with Mossad agents smuggling missiles into Iran and quietly installing explosive drones deep within the country, according to The Washington Post. As the air attack was launched by Israel, the Mossad operatives launched the drones to strike missile launchers at a military base near Tehran. Mossad units had also installed “precision-guided weapons” near Iran’s air defense systems that were activated and completely taking out their defenses, a senior Israeli official said to the newspaper.

In a fresh wave of attacks, the Israeli Air Force struck Tabriz International Airport according to a report from YNET news. Reports within Iran say there were a series of explosions also near the Shahis Fakouri military base and damage along railway lines providing access to the airport. 

Early Friday morning, Tehran launched over 100 drones towards Israel in retaliation. IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in televised remarks that air defenses were already “working to intercept the threats.” An Israeli military official later told reporters that many of the drones had already been intercepted but that threat was not completely over, according to CBS News.

President Trump late Thursday night spoke with Bret Baier of Fox News, and said he was aware of the strikes beforehand. The U.S. was not, however, involved militarily.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table,” he said “We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back.” The president is referring to top Iranian leaders who were killed in the Israeli attack.

The President also said that the U.S. will defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates but he hopes they all can get back to the negotiation table.

The Israeli government believes with a high degree of certainty that they eliminated a number of high-ranking military officials and government scientists as part of the operation. Among those believed to have been killed include the chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Mohammad Bagheri.

According to an Iranian television report, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, was killed. Among other targets for elimination were top Iranian scientists involved in the nuclear program.

The Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, confirmed that a number of commanders and nuclear scientists were “martyred” in the IDF strike. Israel “must await a severe punishment,” he said.

On Thursday the global nuclear watchdog, known as the IAEA, censured Iran for violating its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The resolution followed a report by the agency’s chief, Rafael Grossi, which said he could not determine that Iran’s nuclear program is civilian. The report indicated that Iran is close to military nuclear capabilities. As Iran has long vowed to erase the “Zionist entity” off the map, Israel considers a nuclear Iran a major threat.

On Friday morning the IAEA confirmed that the nuclear site at Natanz was among the targets struck, adding it is in contact with the Iranian authorities over fears of radiation.

A spokesman for the IDF, Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a video message that Israel has intelligence showing Iran is nearing the development of a bomb, and that the government is prepared to use it. 

“The state of Israel has the right and obligation to operate in order to protect its people,” he said. “The IDF conducted significant preparations for this operation. We are well-prepared, both in defense and offense.”

President Trump has been advocating for a negotiated settlement with the Iranians. On Thursday night, Secretary Rubio said in a statement that the United States was in no way involved in the Israeli bombing campaign. 

“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,” Mr. Rubio said. 

In a lengthy post on Truth Social on Friday morning, Mr. Trump said Iran was given “chance after chance” to come to terms with a deal on its nuclear capabilities.

“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,” he said. “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.”

“There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”