The Israeli Air Force conducted dozens of strikes in Iran on Thursday targeting nuclear and missile sites.
Why it matters: Israel is directly attacking its biggest and best-armed adversary, without clear backing from the U.S.
- President Trump publicly opposed an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites on Thursday, saying he still believed a nuclear deal was possible.
- Hours later, Israel began targeting nuclear sites as well military headquarters, military commanders, and other Iranian officials, Israeli officials said.
Driving the news: Sirens sounded across Israel on Thursday night. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a special state of emergency across the entire country.
- “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,” Katz said.
- An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said only “necessary” activities should take place in Israel starting Friday morning local time. That includes a ban on “educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, with the exception of essential businesses.”
- Israeli airspace was also closed.
The big picture: The Israeli strikes have launched a new military conflict that poses grave danger to both Israel and Iran.
- An IDF official told reporters the operation to destroy Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities will take several days, and Israel expects Iran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks.
- The IDF official claimed that in recent weeks Israel had indications that Iran was racing for a nuclear bomb and that with every day that passed Israel would have less visibility into Iran’s advancements. “We are now in a strategic window of opportunity and close to a point of no return, and we had no choice but to take action,” the official said.
- Iran denies that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and the U.S. and other allies have made no such warning about Iran racing toward a bomb.
Behind the scenes: The U.S. notified several of its allies in private on Thursday that Israeli strikes were imminent and made clear it was not involved, one of the sources said.
- The Trump administration told Israel it would not participate in any strikes on the nuclear program, Axios reported.
- However, the U.S. has previously helped defend Israel from Iranian attacks and would likely do so again if this strike kicks off a retaliatory cycle.
- Before the operation became public, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tweeted that he was at the embassy in Jerusalem and “will remain here all night,” adding: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Hellbound and Down 