- DUBAI (AP/PTI)
— Israel attacked Iran's capital early Friday in strikes that targeted the
country's nuclear programme and raised the potential for an all-out war between
the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant
attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
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- Multiple sites around the country were hit, including
Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility, where black smoke could be seen rising
into the air.
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- The leader of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen.
Hossein Salami, was confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported, a
development that would be a body blow to Tehran's governing theocracy and an
immediate escalation of the nations' long-simmering conflict. Top military
officials and scientists were also believed killed.
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- The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran's
rapidly advancing nuclear programme and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal,
with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning that “severe punishment”
would be directed at Israel.
Damages are seen in a building after an explosion in a residence compound after Israel attacked Iran's capital Tehran, Friday, June 13, 2025
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- In Washington, the Trump administration, which had
cautioned Israel against an attack during continued negotiations over Iran's
nuclear enrichment programme, said that it had not been involved and warned
against any retaliation targeting US interests or personnel.
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- Israeli leaders cast the preemptive assault as a fight
for the nation's survival that was necessary to head off an imminent threat
that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the
country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a
strike soon.
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- “It could be a year. It could be within a few
months," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he vowed to pursue the
attack for as long as necessary to “remove this threat.”