Israel launches campaign against Iran's nuclear program

Israel launches campaign against Iran's nuclear program

Israel began a wave of unprecedented air strikes on Iran before dawn on Friday morning, targeting key sites in Iran's nuclear program as well as residential areas in wealthy neighborhoods of Tehran. Some of the country's highest-ranking military leaders were killed.

Details of the attacks

A CNN analysis based on satellite images and a variety of videos shared on social media shows how the wide-ranging operation unfolded in the country. The attacks spanned several hundred miles from Tel Aviv and continued into the afternoon, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the bombardments could continue for days.

Operation Rising Lion

Israeli military leaders said they had deployed 200 fighter jets for the operation, dubbed “Rising Lion.” The attacks pursued several strategies: heavy airstrikes against at least one of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities and its stockpile of ballistic missiles, and targeted attacks in Tehran to destabilize the regime's military leadership. The aim was to halt Iran's rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons.

Consequences of the attacks

Videos geolocated and verified by CNN show several residential areas in Tehran, including northern, western and eastern Tehran, were hit. Footage from the aftermath showed crowds and rescue workers gathering around collapsed buildings in densely populated areas.

Reactions and international tensions

The Israeli operation followed years of threats and days of heightened speculation. Earlier this week, the U.S. government moved to withdraw non-essential employees from various locations in the Middle East, with an official citing "rising tensions" in the region. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he did not want Israel to attack Iran while talks to reach a new deal to limit Iran's uranium supply were underway.

Iran strikes back

In response, Iran launched over 100 drones toward Israeli territory, the Israeli military reported, followed by a shower of ballistic missiles.

Chronology of attacks

Here's what we know about how the Israeli attack unfolded, minute by minute. All times are based on local time in Iran.

Early morning: First attacks

The first reports of explosions in Tehran arrived around 3:30 a.m. local time. Video geolocated by CNN showed a fire engulfing several floors of an apartment block in northern Tehran as emergency services arrived at the scene.

Seven miles west of those buildings - still in the north of the city - another video showed the damage from an attack on the wealthy Chamran Town neighborhood. An entire wall of one of the buildings was demolished while people could be seen climbing through the rubble.

A blow struck centrally near Laleh Park, the site of protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after being arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly.

Continuation of the attacks

Beyond the capital, video showed a strike on the Piranshahr military base in western Iran, about 350 miles (about 560 kilometers) from Tehran. The clip showed the night sky lit up by a series of rapid explosions as smoke billowed in the distance.

Trevor Ball, a munitions researcher and former U.S. Army explosives expert, told CNN the video indicated a "burning rocket engine," consistent with a strike on a ballistic missile storage facility.

The attacks also hit the Natanz nuclear facility, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tehran. Social media footage showed a huge fireball rising from the facility. CNN obtained radar images from a space research company, Umbra, that documented damage to several areas of the facility. Other satellite images reviewed by CNN showed the same damage more clearly; Black clouds of smoke rose from several places in the facility.

Statement from the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency

Iran's atomic energy agency said its primary uranium enrichment facility "did not suffer any serious damage" and that there were "no radiation leaks that could cause concern among the population." Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in Iranian state media that the damage was on the ground, away from the underground facilities at the site.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement that "radiation levels outside the Natanz facility remained unchanged," but added that "radioactive contamination exists within the facility that can be addressed with appropriate protective measures."

4:14 a.m.: IDF comments

Soon after the first explosions that rocked Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had carried out preemptive attacks on Iran's nuclear program. It said it had used jets to attack “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in various regions of Iran.” The statement came at 3:44 a.m. in Israel, which is 30 minutes behind Iran's time zone.

4:35 a.m.: Rubio distances himself from the USA

Within minutes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that the US was “not involved in Israel’s attacks” and that Israel’s actions were “unilateral”. “Let me be clear: Iran should not attack U.S. interests or people,” Rubio said in a statement on X, anticipating a possible Iranian response.

Sunrise: Attacks continue

Just a mile west of the Chamran Town attacks, daylight video showed the aftermath of an attack in Tehran's Chizar district. A huge hole had been ripped through the top two floors of a building, with twisted iron hanging out of the concrete structure.

Residents in Tehran later told CNN that they had been woken up by the "shakes" in their homes caused by the Israeli attack. A 17-year-old Iranian, who wished to remain anonymous, said people were “screaming” in the streets. "I didn't know what was happening. It was really scary," the teenager explained.

5:17 a.m.: Netanyahu announces Operation Rising Lion

…