The Israeli military carried out several waves of airstrikes early Friday morning, targeting nuclear facilities and military sites across Iran, killing senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists.

In a prerecorded video message posted early morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at hurting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories.

“This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat of annihilation against us,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli military confirmed it had ‘launched an aerial campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme’ in an operation dubbed ‘Nation of Lions.’

The Israeli military’s chief of staff Eyal Zamir said Iran’s nuclear programme had reached a ‘point of no return,’ and Israel could not ‘wait for another moment to act’ in the ‘fight to preserve our existence.’

An unnamed Israeli military official told reporters that fighter jets have carried out five waves of attacks, featuring hundreds of strikes in total. Israeli strikes have been confirmed in at least eight locations across Iran, including the capital Tehran, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site in Natanz, and a nuclear research centre in Tabriz.

Iranian state media reported several casualties, with civilians and senior Iranian officials among the dead. Confirmed killed are Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, and nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi.

In a statement following the attacks, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Israel to prepare for a ‘bitter and painful fate.’

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran has a ‘legal and legitimate’ right to respond, as it vowed to involve the US as Israel’s strikes could not have taken place without its ‘coordination and authorisation.’

In a statement early on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the attacks as ‘preemptive’ and said Israel was preparing for Iran’s response.

“A missile and UAV [drone] attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate timeframe,” Katz said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed late on Thursday that the US was not involved in the strikes, as he urged Iran not to target American interests or personnel in the region.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We aren’t involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Let me be clear: Iran shouldn’t target US interests or personnel,” Rubio said.

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