In an unprecedented strike that is said to have killed three of Iran’s most influential leaders, Israel struck early Friday at the centre of Iran’s nuclear, missile, and military complex, plunging the entire Middle East into hazardous new ground.
With Israel prepared for a significant Iranian reaction and the possibility of a larger regional confrontation erupting immediately, the attacks on Iran’s nuclear program and top military officials might mark a turning point in the protracted struggle. After Israel’s military claimed that Iran had fired over 100 drones at Israel and that Israel had started “intercepting” them outside of its borders, the response seemed to be underway later Friday morning.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, acknowledged that several Iranian scientists and commanders had been murdered and threatened to punish Israel severely for the strikes. According to a spokesman for Iran’s Armed Forces, Israel and the US will “pay dearly.”
According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israel informed the US that it felt the action was required for its self-defence, but the US was not involved in the strikes. President Donald Trump had earlier issued a warning that a “massive conflict” in the Middle East would break out in the near future.
Is the Middle East on the brink of a massive conflict after the Natanz attack?
Experts and analysts have long cautioned that Israeli attacks against Iran’s nuclear arsenal may lead to a fierce Iranian counterattack and could turn the area into a full-scale conflict.
Additionally, the US may be drawn into the battle if Israel and Iran are involved in a larger one. Approximately 40,000 US troops are now stationed throughout the Middle East, including close to 4,000 in Iraq and Syria. The US is Israel’s closest friend and largest provider of armaments.
Evidence of that possibility surfaced earlier this week when the United States issued an order to evacuate non-essential troops from various places in the Middle East due to growing intelligence indications of an impending Israeli assault on Iran.
Netanyahu has advocated for a military solution to halt Iran’s nuclear program on several occasions, and according to new US intelligence sources, Israel was attempting to profit from the damage caused after bombing Iran’s air defences and missile development sites in October.
According to experts, Iran’s nuclear talks with the US would probably come to an end if Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities. The building at the centre of Iran’s nuclear aspirations caught fire.
The largest uranium enrichment plant in Iran is the nuclear complex at Natanz, a city located around 250 kilometres south of Tehran. According to analysts, the location is utilized for the development and assembly of centrifuges for uranium enrichment, a crucial process that converts uranium into nuclear fuel.
The Iranian atomic energy authority recognized the damage to the Natanz complex. The cause of the damage to the complex’s subterranean and aboveground infrastructure is unknown, but the EPA said no casualties were reported.
According to top U.S. sources, Friday’s attacks followed Tehran’s announcement that it would increase its nuclear activity after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution claiming that the nation was not adhering to its non-proliferation obligations.
A number of militia organisations in Iraq and Syria, as well as devoted proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, are part of the so-called Axis of Resistance that Iran controls throughout the region. These proxy organisations have intensified their attacks in support of the Palestinians since Israel’s conflict in Gaza started in 2023.
With a barrage of missile attacks from both sides last year, the long-running cold war between Israel and Iran broke out. The US at the time cautioned Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear or energy facilities.
