Israel declares state of emergency after ‘preemptive’ strikes on Iran

Israel has launched strikes in Iran, Axios reported citing two sources.

Multiple explosions have been heard in several parts of Tehran, according to Iran’s state TV.

An Israeli strike against Iran could come as soon as Sunday unless Tehran agrees to halt production of fissile material that can be used to make an atomic bomb, The Wall Street Journal reported citing a senior Israeli official.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the possibility of strikes in his phone conversation with President Donald Trump on Monday, the report added.

"We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran," US President Donald Trump said in post on Truth Social.

"They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon."

"One of the things that is perhaps motivating Israel is the opportunity, the vulnerability of Iran. This is the time, in their own mind, to go after that. Certainly, Israel has very advanced capabilities, and they have the ability to do a lot of damage," former US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel said on Thursday.

"I think the real question will be whether this is kind of a limited attack or there's designed to again degrade further, or whether there's really focused on trying to remove the nuclear capability," he told Fox News in an interview.

"I'm not sure Israel has everything at their disposal without assistance from the United States to actually do the latter there."