- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Israeli airstrikes across Iran that killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists, vowing "severe punishment" in response to the "criminal aggression."
- Among the dead are IRGC Commander Hossein Salami, Deputy Army Chief Gholam Ali Rashid and nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi.
- Strikes targeted multiple provinces, including Iran's main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz; the IAEA confirmed damage but reported no radiation leaks.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly claimed responsibility, announcing "Operation Rising Lion" to dismantle Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities and warned the campaign would continue.
- The UN and several international actors expressed alarm, with Secretary-General António Guterres concerned about attacks on nuclear sites amid ongoing U.S.–Iran nuclear talks; Iran called the strikes illegal and invoked its right to self-defense.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed a harsh response to Israeli airstrikes that hit multiple locations across Iran early Friday, killing senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.
In a televised address via Iranian state media outlet Tasnim, on Friday, June 13, Khamenei confirmed that the strikes, which began at around 3:30 a.m. local time, resulted in the deaths of several top Iranian figures, including Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Gholam Ali Rashid, Deputy Chief of Army Staff; and prominent nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi. (Related: Israel-Iran tensions intensify as diplomatic efforts struggle.)
Iranian state media aired footage of damage in multiple provinces, including a partially destroyed facility near Natanz, the site of Iran's main uranium enrichment complex. Black smoke was seen rising from Natanz, though the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed there was "no increase in radiation levels." Residential neighborhoods in Isfahan and Shiraz were also reportedly hit, though these claims could not be independently verified.
Khamenei accused Israel of "criminal aggression" and warned that it "should expect severe punishment."
"The Zionist regime opened its dirty and bloody hand to a crime in our beloved country this morning and revealed its evil nature by striking residential centers more than ever before. The regime must expect a severe punishment," he vowed on Friday.
The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces also echoed a similar statement and condemned the assault as a "blatant act of war" and vowed a "crushing and unforgiving response."
UN secretary-general alarmed by Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proudly confirmed the attacks in a televised seven-minute address to the nation that same day. He even vowed that the unprecedented assault, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, would "continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat."
"We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb," he boasted. He then accused Iran of having enriched enough uranium to build nine nuclear weapons and called Iran’s ballistic missile program an "intolerable threat" to Israeli and regional security.
But instead of gaining praise, the international community reacted with deep concern.
Farhan Haq, spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, disclosed that the secretary-general is "particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear program are underway."
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the strikes a violation of international law and said Iran had the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. He urged the UN Security Council to "act immediately" and warned that Iran "will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation with all their might and in a manner they determine."
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