AGENCIES
Tehran—Iran has vowed to strike back against Israel’s huge and unprecedented attack targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities and eliminating top military leadership in the country.
The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Friday Iran will retaliate for Israeli strikes on its territory. He confirmed that senior commanders were killed in the attack. “Israel should expect severe punishment,” Khamenei said, accusing Israel of striking residential areas.
In his first message to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after his appointment commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Mohamed Pakpour he pledged along with his forces to “honor the pure blood of the martyrs and defend the Islamic Revolution and the honorable Iranian people.”
“The crime committed today by the [Israeli] regime in attacking Iran’s national security and territorial integrity will not remain unanswered,” he said. Stressing that “the gates of hell will soon open on this child-killing regime.” the gates of hell will soon open on this regime.
Pakpour was appointed Friday to replace General Hossein Salami who was among the top military leaders killed by Israel in the early morning hours.
US President Donald Trump who has criticized his predecessor for allowing did not do enough to not wars breakout in the world is now presiding on what seem to be an unprecedented disastrous war in the Middle East of his own making. It would very well escalate to include many powers and regions.
Explosions were reported in Iran’s capital Tehran at about 03:30 local time. Iranian state TV said residential areas in Tehran were hit, with blasts also heard north-east of the capital. It seems as if the Iranian nation was caught off guard despite all the clear signs during the last few weeks that Israel was coordinating with the United States to do just that.
In a post on Truth Social early Friday morning, US President Donald Trump told Iran to agree to a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left,” according to CNN. He warned that subsequent Israeli attacks on the country would be “even more brutal.”
Trump’s negotiating team was scheduled to meet the Iranian team in Mascat, Oman on Sunday to reach a deal on Iranian nuclear facilities while he knew far earlier about Friday’s attack.
Meanwhile, Trump to Reuters on Friday that the US still plans to hold a meeting with Iran on Sunday. He said it is not too late for Iran to make a deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a phone call with his Italian counterpart on Friday said Iran’s response to the Israeli attack will be decisive. He reiterated this position to the Kuwaiti FM saying “Iran is determined to respond decisively to the cowardly Israeli aggression to preserve its sovereignty, protect its people, and its national security,” as cited by Al-Mayadeen TV.
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami said the damage to nuclear facilities resulting from the Israeli aggression was only at ground level, and no human casualties were recorded. He added, no leakage occurred Radiation raises citizens’ concerns, saying, “We assure the Iranian people that we will continue on this path until the last breath and will not retreat, ” as cited by Iranian TV.
The Chairman of the Nuclear Committee in Shura Council National Security Committee of Iran said Israeli attacks have no impact on the country’s nuclear development
The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces described the attack as “blatant aggression” and vowed a “crushing” response. According to Iranian media, the victims include Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Deputy Chief of Army Staff Gholam Ali Rashid, and nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi.
The global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was informed by Iranian authorities that there has been no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz plant.
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said nuclear facilities “must never be attacked” and such strikes have “serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security”.
In a statement to board members, he called “on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation”, saying “any military action that jeopardizes the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond”.
Grossi has been accused of being coordinating with Israel to always side with the Israeli viewpoint when it comes to evaluating the actual state of the Iranian peaceful nuclear program.