Israel Attacks Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Kills Senior Commanders

(Bloomberg) -- Israel launched strikes across Iran on Friday morning, targeting nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders in a major escalation against its chief adversary that risks sparking a broad war in the Middle East.

The strikes were far more extensive than those Israel carried out against Iran last year and underscored the country’s growing assertiveness, as well as its military and intelligence capabilities.

Iran appeared to launch a retalitory barrage of missiles toward later Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces, who said in a statement that “all of Israel” was under fire. Plumes of smoke could be seen over Tel Aviv on Friday evening. Iran did not immediately comment on the action. 

US President Donald Trump urged Iran to accept a nuclear deal with Washington to avoid further attacks, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed would probably happen over the coming days as Israel looks to deal a severe blow to Tehran’s nuclear program.

“There is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,” Trump said on Truth Social. Tehran must make a deal “before it is too late,” he said.

Israel said it struck around 100 targets across Iranian cities on Friday morning, using 200 planes. The attacks caused oil to surge as much as 13%, though it later pared its gains, and investors to buy havens such as gold and US Treasuries.

Explosions were heard across Tehran, Natanz — home to a key atomic site — and other cities, according to local and social media. Loud explosions were also observed near Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, where the country was enriching uranium to near-bomb grade, according to Fars News. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear-enrichment program.” 

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the military’s chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, were both killed, according to Iranian media. At least two other senior IRGC members also died.

Iran quickly responded by sending a wave of drones toward Israel, though it was unclear if they caused any damage. Some were intercepted over Jordan. 

Israel expects Iran to retaliate with more drone strikes and also by firing ballistic missiles, according to a military official speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The risk of this conflict expanding is real,” said Bilal Bassiouni, head of risk forecasting at advisory firm Pangea-Risk. “Iran is under intense pressure to respond beyond drones, and a strike on Israeli military or strategic infrastructure, including energy or nuclear-linked facilities, is plausible.”

The UN’s atomic watchdog said there were no indications of increased radiation levels at Iran’s main uranium-enrichment site of Natanz, an early sign the strikes haven’t penetrated the layers of steel and concrete protecting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear stockpile.

The Israeli Air Force said the Natanz strike hit an underground multi-story chamber with centrifuges and other infrastructure, causing “significant damage.”

Netanyahu said the strikes “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” Israel’s UN ambassador said it was possible that the operation takes weeks.

Beyond nuclear facilities, the initial phase of the strikes targeted Iran’s air defenses and missile-production facilities.

Iranian media said at least 95 people were wounded and that several residential buildings in the capital’s suburbs were hit. Iran hasn’t yet released an official death toll.

Netanyahu said Friday’s strikes were “very successful,” adding that Israelis would need to prepare for a retaliation and prepare to spend long periods in shelters.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will “pay a very heavy price” and should “expect a severe response from Iran’s armed forces.”

Trump, in an interview with Reuters, said he “knew everything” about the attack, despite saying as recently as Thursday he’d suggested he was against strikes and that his administration remained “committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue!”

“I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out. They can still work out a deal however, it’s not too late,” Trump told Reuters. 

Trump said it was unclear if a previously scheduled meeting between Iranian and US officials would take place — or if Tehran still had a nuclear program following the attack.

The US was “not involved” in Israel’s strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. He warned Iran against targeting US interests or personnel in retaliation.

The US and Iran were meant to meet for their next round of nuclear talks on Sunday in Oman. It’s unclear if those negotiations will still happen. Oman’s government — in the first comments from a Gulf state — said Israel’s actions were reckless and would undermine regional security.

Other Arab states echoed those comments, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged “all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently” and said “escalation serves no one in the region.” French President Emmanuel Macron said a United Nations conference with Saudi Arabia related to efforts to broker a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians had been postponed.

Regional Crisis

The attacks risk plunging the Middle East — which has been mired in various conflicts since militant group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023 — even deeper into crisis and hitting the global economy.

Several countries closed their airspace, including Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. That’s forcing airlines to fly longer routes, adding to fuel costs and disrupting schedules.

“Risks are high this will escalate into a broader regional conflict,” say Bloomberg Economics analysts including Jennifer Welch, Adam Farrar and Tom Orlik. The clearest hit to the global economy will come via higher energy prices, they said.

Iran said its oil refineries and storage tanks weren’t damaged. Still, Brent crude was up by 7.3% to $74.30 a barrel as of 1:42 p.m. in London, almost erasing this year’s losses.

Freight rates and tanker stocks rose as traders and investors priced in the prospect of disruption to a large swath of the global oil-shipping fleet.

“Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence,” Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. He said Trump and other nations need to push for “diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control.”

Republican politicians refrained from criticizing Israel and largely said the country was provoked by Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was a “preemptive strike,” with the country’s officials saying they had evidence Iran was planning an attack.

Tehran has repeatedly insisted that its atomic activities are for peaceful, civilian purposes only. But it has significantly expanded uranium enrichment since 2019 — a response to Trump’s withdrawal the year before from a 2015 nuclear deal signed under Barack Obama’s administration.

Efforts by Trump to forge a new deal since he returned to power in January have made stuttering progress. The two sides have struggled to bridge their main dispute. The US — along with Israel — has argued that Iran mustn’t be allowed to enrich uranium, while Tehran had said it must retain that right. The Islamic Republic says it needs to process uranium, at least to a low level, for civilian purposes such as fueling nuclear power plants.

Iran had ratcheted up tensions on Thursday, when officials announced they would inaugurate a new uranium-enrichment facility. That was after the International Atomic Energy Agency — the UN’s atomic watchdog — said Iran wasn’t complying with its international obligations. The IAEA’s move set Iran up for a potential renewal of widespread UN sanctions.

Shortly before, the US ordered some staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, which neighbors Iran. CBS News reported that was partly down to the US being told Israel was closer to striking Iran.

Tensions between Iran and Israel have soared since Hamas, a Palestinian militant group backed by Tehran, attacked the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023. That led to conflicts between Israel and other Iran-sponsored militias including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Iran and Israel also engaged in unprecedented, direct missile and drone attacks on each other in April and October last year. Each time, Israel responded to Iranian strikes — most of which were intercepted — with some of its own, concentrating on military targets such as air-defense systems and missile-making factories.

This is the first time Israel has decided to go after Iran’s atomic facilities, which it views as an existential threat, with airstrikes.

(Adds Iran retaliation in third paragraph)

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