Israel-Iran strikes latest: Natanz nuclear site targeted and Revolutionary Guards chief feared dead in major strike

Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, has been killed in the Israeli strikes, state TV IRINN reported.

Gen Bagheri was Iran’s highest ranking military officer. He is the second senior figure in the Iranian military killed in Israel’s attack.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have confirmed the death of General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

US president Donald Trump just spoke about the Israeli strikes on Fox News and appeared to distance himself from the strikes.

Mr Trump said he was aware of Israel’s plans to strike, but said his country was in no way involved in it.

But he hoped that the US’s negotiation on nuclear deal would continue.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,” he told Fox News.

“There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” he said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was “closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation in Iran” after Israel launched strikes on the country.

The IAEA “can confirm Natanz site among targets. The agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country”, director general Rafael Grossi said.

An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets, including the facility at Natanz in central Iran.

The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.

The Natanz complex, located about 250km south of Tehran, is Iran’s largest enrichment facility and central to its nuclear programme. Analysts say it develops and assembles centrifuges used to convert uranium into nuclear fuel.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement that Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive “a bitter fate for itself”.

“The regime must await a severe punishment,” he said.

“In the enemy’s attacks, a number of commanders and scientists were martyred. Their successors and colleagues will, God willing, immediately continue their duties without pause,” he added.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself – and it will certainly receive it.”

Airspace above Israel, Iran and Iraq has been cleared out by airlines after Israel launched attacks on targets in Tehran, Flightradar24 data showed, with carriers scrambling to divert and cancel flights to keep passengers and crew safe.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel.

Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, state media reported.

As reports of strikes on Iran emerged, a number of commercial flights by airlines including Dubai’s Emirates, Lufthansa and Air India were flying over Iran.

Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.

Flights steadily diverted over Central Asia or Saudi Arabia, flight tracking data showed.

“The situation is still emerging – operators should use a high degree of caution in the region at this time,” according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information.

The US embassy in Jerusalem has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice over the quickly changing “security environment”.

“The US Embassy reminds US citizens of the continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness – including knowing the location of the nearest shelter in the event of a red alert as security incidents, including mortar, rocket, and missile fire, and unmanned aircraft system intrusions, often take place without any warning. The security environment is complex and can change quickly,” a security alert by the embassy said.

It said the US embassy may further restrict or prohibit government employees and their family members from traveling to certain areas of Israel (including the Old City of Jerusalem) and the West Bank in response to security incidents and without advance notice.

Iran has closed its entire airspace following Israel’s strikes.

Earlier, there was a temporary closure of airspace over Tehran, according to a NOTAM issued by Iran, CNN reported. But now the entire airspace is shut down.

US Sen. Jack Reed issued a statement on Israel’s strikes on Iran, calling the decision a “reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence.”

“Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence,” Reed said Thursday.

“While tensions between Israel and Iran are real and complex, military aggression of this scale is never the answer,” he added as he urged both sides to show “immediate restraint.”

He also called on President Trump and international partners to “press for diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals out of control.”

Oil prices were up by 8.3 percent to $73.75 a barrel following Israel’s strikes on Iran.

It’s the biggest one-day percentage increase since March 2022 during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CNN reported.