By Helen Regan, Lauren Izso, Tamar Michaelis, Nadeen Ebrahim and Kara Fox

(CNN) — Israel struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear, missile and military complex early Friday, in an unprecedented attack that has killed several of Iran’s most powerful figures and plunges the wider Middle East into dangerous new territory.

The strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and senior military leaders could be a turning point in the long-running conflict, with Israel braced for a major Iranian retaliation – and the threat of a wider regional war breaking out now a real risk.

Later Friday morning, that retaliation appeared to be underway after Israel’s military said Iran had launched more than 100 drones toward Israel, and that Israel had begun “intercepting” them outside of its borders.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel will face “severe punishment” for the attacks, and confirmed that a number of Iranian commanders and scientists had been killed. Iran’s Armed Forces spokesperson said both the United States and Israel would “pay dearly,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attack “a declaration of war.”

The US was not involved in the strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, noting that Israel had “advised” the US that it believed the “action was necessary for its self-defense.” On Thursday, President Donald Trump had warned of the possibility of “massive conflict” in the Middle East that could take place “soon.”

Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, early Friday, Trump urged Iran to agree to a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left,” suggesting that subsequent Israeli attacks on the country could be “even more brutal.”

Washington has long sought to limit Tehran’s nuclear capacity, with the most recent negotiations in Rome last month ending with no agreement. A sixth round of US-Iran talks had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman – it’s not clear if it will go ahead.

Israel’s strikes came shortly after Tehran said that it would ramp up its nuclear activities due to the International Atomic Energy Agency passing a resolution saying that the country was not in compliance with its non-proliferation commitments, senior US officials told CNN.

In a televised address to the nation early Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation had “struck at the head of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program” and targets included Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz, Iranian nuclear scientists, and Iran’s ballistic missiles program.

“Moments ago, Israel launched operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said.

“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

Repeated explosions could be heard in the capital, Tehran, terrifying its residents, and multiple videos geolocated by CNN showed flames and smoke billowing from buildings across the city. Iran’s airspace has also been closed, its civil aviation authority said.

An Israeli military statement later Friday said Israeli fighter jets had also completed a “large-scale strike” on aerial defense arrays in western Iran. “As part of the strikes, dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers were destroyed,” it said.

Several of Iran’s most powerful men have been killed, according to Iranian authorities and state media. They included Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and the country’s highest-ranking military officer.

Also among the dead are Iran’s former national security chief Ali Shamkhani – a key adviser to Khamenei who served as secretary of the National Security Council for almost a decade – and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC’s Air Force, who was killed alongside two other air force commanders. Six of Iran’s nuclear scientists, were killed, state affiliated Tasnim news agency said.

Khamenei appointed new commanders on Friday to head key military entities, including Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, the new head of the IRGC.

Friday’s strikes suggest Netanyahu saw a window of opportunity to meet Israel’s longstanding objective of obliterating Iran’s nuclear program. Iran is in its weakest military position in decades following crippling economic sanctions, previous Israeli strikes on its air defenses and decimation of its most powerful regional proxies, including Hezbollah.

US officials had previously told CNN that Israeli strikes on Iran would be a brazen break with Trump’s approach on the Middle East.

Trump told CNN on Friday that the US supports Israel and called the strikes on Iran “a very successful attack.”

Several countries voiced alarm and condemnation over Israel’s strikes, with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry saying the attack undermines Iran’s “sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms,” and China’s embassy in Iran calling the situation “severe and complex.”

Residents in Iran faced a long and terrifying night. “People reported the ground shaking, hearing explosions, and jets flying overhead,” Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, told CNN.

Azzam, a 35-year-old Iranian citizen who lives close to Saadat Abad in northern Tehran, an area targeted by Israel, told CNN: “I woke up with the whole house shaking. I was very scared, not knowing what had happened.”

Sam, 29, told CNN that he fears further attacks. “I am concerned about the escalation of this, and what this means for us in Tehran.” Like Azzam, he requested anonymity due to concerns for his safety.

Israel declared a state of special emergency, closing its airspace, shutting schools and banning social gatherings. “Tens of thousands” of Israeli soldiers were being called up in preparation for an Iranian retaliation, Israel’s military chief of staff said.

Fears of wider war

Analysts and experts have long warned that Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear capabilities could trigger a massive Iranian retaliation and threaten to tip the region into a full-scale war.

And if Israel and Iran become entangled in wider conflict, it could risk drawing the US into the fray. The US is Israel’s closest ally and biggest weapons supplier, and there are currently about 40,000 US troops across the Middle East, including nearly 4,000 in Iraq and Syria.

Indications of that risk emerged earlier this week as the US ordered the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East as intelligence warnings increased that an Israeli strike on Iran was imminent.

Netanyahu has repeatedly pushed for a military option to stop Iran’s nuclear program, and recent US intelligence reports said that Israel was seeking to capitalize on the destruction inflicted after it bombed Iran’s missile production facilities and air defenses in October.

Experts say an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would also likely spell the end of Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the US.

The facility at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions was engulfed in flames on Friday, according to social media images geolocated by CNN and Iranian state television.

The nuclear complex in Natanz, a city about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Tehran, is considered Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility. Analysts say the site is used to develop and assemble centrifuges for uranium enrichment, a key technology that turns uranium into nuclear fuel.

The Iranian atomic energy agency confirmed that the Natanz facility had been damaged. The complex has overground and underground facilities and it’s unclear what was impacted but no casualties were reported, the agency said.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said there were no elevated radiation levels at Natanz. Other nuclear facilities in Iran, Isfahan and Fordow “have not been impacted,” Grossi added.

‘Explosive drones’ activated

Israel’s Mossad spy agency smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of Friday’s strikes that were used to target its defenses from within, according to an Israeli security official.

The official said that “a base for launching explosive drones was established inside Iran and that the drones were activated during Friday’s attack to target missile launchers at a base near Tehran.”

Israel had also “smuggled precision weapons into central Iran and positioned them near surface-to-air missile systems,” the official said, adding that Israel had deployed strike systems on vehicles.

Iran oversees a so-called Axis of Resistance across the region that includes loyal proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as various militia groups in Iraq and Syria. Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in 2023, attacks by those proxy groups have escalated in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Last year Israel and Iran’s years-long cold war erupted into the open with a series of missile strikes from both sides. At the time, the US warned Israel not to strike Iran’s energy or nuclear infrastructure.

Friday’s operation goes much further than previously seen. CNN’s security analyst Beth Sanner said that removing Salami is akin to taking out the US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff: “You can imagine what Americans would do,” she said.

Iran is now “under existential threat” and as such, the Israelis will be expecting “a massive, much bigger retaliation than what they saw last time,” Sanner added.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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