Israel launches ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran, says Israeli defence minister

Israel has launched a ‘preemptive strike’ on Iran, said Israeli defence minister early Friday (Jun 13). A state of emergency has been declared in Israel for any possible retaliation.

This comes after US President Donald Trump warned of a possible Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

“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,” Israel Katz said.

Iran's state TV reported loud explosions heard in the capital. “Loud explosions being heard in different locations of the capital Tehran,” it said.

This comes hours after US President Donald Trump called on Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, saying they are “fairly close” to reaching a deal if Tehran compromises.

Netanyahu says 'struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme'

Shortly after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme.”

“We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic missile programme,” he added.

“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” the Israeli prime minister said.