Israel hits Iran nuclear facilities, missile factories; Tehran vows revenge

Israel launched widescale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders and that this was start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Calling the offensive "Rising Lion," Israel said it was also targeting Iranian commanders and declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes by Tehran. "We are at a decisive moment in Israel's history," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.

Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, its ballistic missile programme and its Nantanz uranium enrichment facility, in an operation that would continue for days, he said.

Iranian state television reported that Hossein Salami, the chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards corps, had been killed and the unit's headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Several children had been killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, it said.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement that Israel would receive "a bitter fate for itself".

A witness in Nantanz city said multiple explosions were heard near the facility, and a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country's leadership was holding a top security meeting.

Iran's state TV said several explosions were heard in Tehran and the country's air defence system was on full alert. It reported that at least two nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in Israeli strikes in Tehran.

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel's air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

The US said it had no part in the operation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio adding that Israel acted unilaterally because it believes the operation was necessary for self-defence. "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," Rubio said in a statement. "Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel," he added.

US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran's escalating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday, according to officials from both countries and their Omani mediators. But the talks have appeared to be deadlocked.

Trump said on Thursday an Israeli strike on Iran "could very well happen" but reiterated his hopes for a peaceful resolution.

US intelligence had indicated that Israel was making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, and US officials said on condition of anonymity that Israel could attack in the coming days.

The US military is planning for the full range of contingencies in the Middle East, including the possibility that it might have to help evacuate American civilians, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.