58 minutes agoShareSaveLana Lam and Sofia Ferreira SantosBBC NewsShareSaveIsrael launched strikes across Iran on Friday, saying they targeted the “heart” of Iran’s nuclear programme. The strikes killed Hossein Salami, chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards – a powerful branch of the country’s armed forces – other senior military figures and nuclear scientists.Civilians, including children, were also among those killed, Iranian state media reported. The BBC is not able to independently verify these reports.The Israeli military said Iran launched about 100 drones towards Israel on Friday morning, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was intercepting. A state of emergency was declared in Israel.The US said it was not involved in the strikes. Multiple strikes were reported, including on Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility.When and where did the strikes happen?Explosions were reported in Iran’s capital Tehran at about 03:30 local time (01:00 BST).Iranian state TV said residential areas in Tehran were hit, with blasts also heard north-east of the capital.In Israel, residents were woken by air raid sirens around the same time and received emergency phone alerts.Israel’s military said it had struck “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran”.Hours after the initial strikes, an explosion was reported at the Natanz nuclear facility, which is located about 225km (140 miles) south of the capital, according to Iranian state media.The IDF later confirmed it had struck the site and said its attack had resulted in significant damage.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 jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond”.How did we get to this point?Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes – called Operation Rising Lion – were “a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival”.He said the operation would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove the spread”.Netanyahu said Iran has taken steps to “weaponise” in recent months and that, “if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time”.An Israeli military official told the BBC that Iran had enough nuclear material to create nuclear bombs “within days”.In his address, Netanyahu also thanked US President Donald Trump for “confronting Iran’s nuclear weapons programme”.The strikes come as US talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, which began in April, appear to have stalled in recent days. The next round of talks was scheduled for Sunday.US President Donald Trump had hoped to strike a deal to stop Tehran developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has long insisted that its nuclear activities are peaceful.Earlier this week, Trump reportedly held a “tense” phone call with Netanyahu, who has long argued for a military rather than diplomatic approach to Iran’s nuclear abilities.Last year, Iran and Israel launched a number of airstrikes against each other in April and October – though Israel’s strikes last year were not believed to have been as wide-ranging as its current operation.Iran foreign minister says attack ‘declaration of war’Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “should anticipate a severe punishment”, while Foreign Mi …
