Building destroyed by Israeli attack in eastern Tehran, video shows

"Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement issued by the White House.

"Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners," he added.

"Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel."

"The IDF launched a preemptive, precise, combined offensive based on high-quality intelligence to strike Iran's nuclear program, and in response to the Iranian regime's ongoing aggression against Israel," the Israeli military said in a statement.

"A short while (ago), dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran."

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"Moments ago, Israel launched Operation rising lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address on Friday local time.

"This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat for decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly openly called for Israel's destruction. They backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a program to develop nuclear weapons."

"Iran and its proxies tried to encircle Israel with a ring of fire and to attack us with the horrible attack of October 7, but the people of Israel, the soldiers of Israel, rose like lions to defend our country," Netanyahu added.

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

"Homes of senior military and political officials were targeted in Israeli airstrikes in Tehran," a senior Israeli political official told Iran International, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Civilians are not the intended targets," the official added.

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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.

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