TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to give severe punishment to Israel for its strikes on Tehran and other cities which resulted in death of several senior military and nuclear officials.
Khamenei issued a statement on social media platform, stating: “That [Zionist] regime should anticipate a severe punishment .By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished”.
Earlier in the day, Israel launched strikes against Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities, ballistic missile sites and military commanders, on Friday.
Several top Iranian military and nuclear officials were killed in what is being described at one of the most significant escalation between the two countries to date.
According to The New York Times, Israel targeted at least six military bases around Tehran, including the sensitive Parchin facility.
Iranian media reported that explosions were heard at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel has declared a state of emergency taking anticipatory measures against retaliatory military action by Iran.
Iranian state television reported that Hossein Salami, the chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps, had been killed in attack, adding that several children and women are also among the victims.
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a message after attacking Iran.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” he added.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who remained safe in the attack, said in a statement that Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and vowed to give a befitting response to it.
Meanwhile, the United States said it had no involvement in the operation, which can lead to an escalation in the Middle East.
Iranian state media reported that at least two nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also assassinated in Israeli strikes in Tehran.
On the other hand, Iranan airspace has been closed until further notice, state media reported.
