Three top Iranian military commanders were killed Thursday night in the Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, the IDF announced Friday, confirming that the audacious operation was enormously successful.
“We can now confirm that the Chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Commander of the IRGC and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran by more than 200 fighter jets,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed the deaths of several Iranian commanders and scientists from the Israeli attacks and is promising a “a bitter, painful fate” for the “Zionist regime.”
Iran initially responded to the Israeli strikes by launching over 100 drones, which the Israeli military began intercepting soon after they launched. Neighboring Jordan also intercepted Iranian drones and missiles in its air space.
The strikes decapitated much of the Iranian high command, removing from the battlefield: Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces and Ayatollah Khamenei’s No. 2; General Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards; and General Gholamali Rashid, deputy commander in chief of the armed forces.
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s airspace unit, was also killed along with most of the unit’s leadership, who were hiding out in an underground bunker, according to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Israeli was also able to eliminate two of Iran’s preeminent nuclear scientists: Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, a theoretical physicist and president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran.
Following the attacks, President Donald Trump warned Iran the situation would only worsen and urged them to come back to the table to negotiate a nuclear deal.
“They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
The coordinated attack on Iranian nuclear facilities came at a critical juncture, as the Iranians rebuffed U.S. attempts to strike a deal that would see them wind down their uranium-enrichment program.
“Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world,” the IDF said in a statement. “The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel launched a “targeted military operation” against the threat that Iran poses to Israel’s survival. He said the operation would go on for “as many days as it takes” until the threat is eliminated.
“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before. Steps to weaponize this enriched uranium,” Netanyahu asserted, after saying Iran had enough uranium to make nine atomic bombs.
“And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival.”
Initial reports suggest that Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, conducted covert operations deep in Iran focused on its air defense and missile capabilities.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared an immediate state of emergency upon Israel’s launch of the attack, with the Jewish state preparing itself for an immediate Iranian missile response.
“Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the state of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Katz said in a message blasted out to Israelis.
Explosions have been reported in Tehran and in areas where Iranian nuclear facilities are located. Images and footage of the explosions have circulated widely on social media. It is not yet known if there are any casualties.
The move comes after President Trump said earlier Thursday that he still believed in the possibility of a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear buildup. Talks had been tentatively scheduled to resume in the coming days.
“We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. had no involvement in the Israeli operation.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
U.S. officials had been prepared for an Israeli strike against Iran and withdrew personnel from the Middle East accordingly. Earlier Thursday, Iran signaled it would ramp up its nuclear activities after a United Nations watchdog passed a resolution stating that Iran was not fulfilling its nonproliferation obligations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s declaration came after an agency report in May detailed secret Iranian activities related to its nuclear development and unsatisfactory levels of cooperation with the watchdog’s requirements, according to Reuters. Iran rejected the report’s findings, calling it politicized, and promised a response to actions taken against it.
Iran is the chief sponsor of several terrorist organizations in the Middle East including Hamas, the group Israel is currently fighting a war against in Gaza. The conflict in Gaza began with Hamas’s mass slaughter of Israeli civilians and abduction of 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel’s war expanded to its north against the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, decimating its top ranks in the process.
In April 2024, Iran directly launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel instead of going through one of its proxy organizations. The U.S. and a coalition of allies helped Israel successfully defend itself from the attack, which occurred after a suspected Israeli operation in Syria targeting Iranian military commanders. More recently, the Iranians launched missiles at Israel in October 2024, with the Jewish state defending itself with assistance from the U.S. military.
