TEHRAN: Iran called Israel's wave of strikes on Friday a declaration of war, while US President Donald Trump warned Tehran of "even more brutal" attacks if it does not make a deal on its nuclear programme.
Israel said its air strikes had killed several top generals, including most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards' air force, while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel it faced a "bitter and painful" fate over the attacks, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a "declaration of war" and President Masoud Pezeshkian said "Iran will make the enemy regret its foolish act".
The Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones, with air defences intercepting them outside Israeli territory, while neighbouring Jordan said it targeted drones and missiles that violated its airspace.
Trump urged Iran on Friday to "make a deal", warning that there will be more "death and destruction" after Israel launched deadly strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
The United States underlined that it was not involved in the Israeli action and warned Iran not to attack its personnel or interests, but Tehran said Washington would be "responsible for consequences".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", taking aim at nuclear scientists and the main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.
The strikes would "continue as many days as it takes", the Israeli premier said, while the military said intelligence showed Iran was approaching the "point of no return" on its nuclear programme.
The strikes killed Iran's highest-ranking military officer, armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, Iranian media reported.
Khamenei swiftly appointed new commanders to replace those killed, while state media said a senior adviser to the supreme leader had himself been wounded.
"The senior chain of command of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had assembled in an underground command centre to prepare for an attack on the State of Israel," the Israeli military said, adding that its attacks had killed most of them.
Iran confirmed the Guards aerospace commander had been killed, along with "a group of brave and dedicated fighters".
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the "precise targeting of senior commanders... sends a strong and clear message: those who work towards Israel's destruction will be eliminated".
SCATHING RESPONSE
Tehran's streets were deserted except for queues at petrol stations, a familiar sight in times of crisis.
"How much longer are we going to live in fear?" asked Ahmad Moadi, a 62-year-old retiree.
"As an Iranian, I believe there must be an overwhelming response, a scathing response."
Air traffic was halted at Tehran's main gateway, Imam Khomeini International Airport, while Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspace.
Israel declared a state of emergency as anxieties grew amidst a wave of uncertainty gripped the region.
"I'm worried for my children and also about my livelihood, because this affects the market. You can't work, you can't do anything," Tel Aviv resident Vered Saar said.
Oil prices surged while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes, which came after Trump's warning of a "massive conflict" in the region.
Trump had also said the United States was drawing down staff in the Middle East, after Iran had threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict broke out.
Prior to the strikes, Trump said he believed a deal on Iran's nuclear programme was "fairly close", cautioning however that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.
WITHIN REACH
With the violence raising questions on whether a sixth round of talks planned between the US and Iran would still take place on Sunday in Oman, Trump said Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table".
Confirming Natanz had been among Israel's targets, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was "closely monitoring" the situation as the Israeli military said it hit the underground uranium enrichment centrifuges at the site.
"Most of the damage is on the surface level," said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.
Israel sees Iran as an existential threat and Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza.
Since the Hamas attack, Iran and Israel have traded direct attacks for the first time.
"I think Israel has declared all-out war against Iran," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.
"Is Iran a paper tiger, or will Iran stand up and show the Iranians and the world that it's a pivotal state, it has the capacity, the means and the will to take on Israel?"
The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied.
Israel again called for global action after the IAEA accused Iran on Thursday of non-compliance with its obligations.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a largely moribund 2015 agreement with major powers, but still short of the 90 per cent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead. — AFP
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