The operation, named Rising Lion, involved over 200 Israeli fighter jets striking more than 100 strategic sites across Iran, including the uranium enrichment complex at Natanz—a focal point of Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Brigadier General Effie Defrin, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the strikes marked the beginning of a “prolonged campaign” aimed at neutralizing threats to Israel’s national survival.

In retaliation, Iran launched approximately 100 Shahed-style drones toward Israeli territory, many of which were intercepted by Israel’s layered air defense system, according to Defrin.

Reports from Iranian state media and eyewitnesses described a series of explosions across multiple provinces, including in the vicinity of Natanz, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed there was no abnormal radiation release, citing data from Iranian authorities.

Significantly, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the death of its commander, General Hossein Salami, in the Israeli strikes. Iranian state broadcasters also reported that the IRGC’s central command headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Civilian casualties were also reported, including the deaths of several children in a residential district of the capital.

In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the operation, calling it a historic moment for national security.

“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” he said. “Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion—a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

At an online press briefing, Brig. Gen. Defrin confirmed that among the casualties were Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, and the head of the nation’s Emergency Command Unit.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stern warning in response, accusing Israel of committing “a wicked and bloody crime” and vowing that the country “will face a bitter fate.”

The full scope and consequences of the Israeli strikes remain unclear, but the action has triggered widespread concern over potential regional escalation and the future of nuclear diplomacy. Governments across the Middle East and beyond have called for restraint as both nations brace for further retaliation.