Israel launched a \u201cpre-emptive strike\u201d on Iran, the country\u2019s defence minister said early on Friday (Jun 13), after US President Donald Trump had warned that Israel could soon strike Iran\u2019s nuclear sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing the State of Israel\u2019s pre-emptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,\u201d Israel Katz said.<\/p>\n
Israel said it was declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of a retaliatory strike by Tehran.<\/p>\n
An Israeli military official said Israel was striking \u201cdozens\u201d of nuclear and military targets. The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s state TV said several explosions were heard in Tehran and the country\u2019s air defence system was on full alert.<\/p>\n
\u201cLoud explosions being heard in different locations of the capital Tehran,\u201d state TV reported without providing details. AFP correspondents also heard the blasts.<\/p>\n
Iranian state TV said the \u201csource of the sound remains unknown\u201d.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was not involved in Israel\u2019s strikes against Iran while also urging Tehran not to target US interests or personnel in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, 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,\u201d Rubio said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CNN reported that US President Donald Trump was convening a cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
Crude oil prices jumped more than US$3 a barrel on the news.<\/p>\n
US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran\u2019s escalating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday, according to officials from both countries and their Omani mediators. But the talks have appeared to be deadlocked.<\/p>\n
Trump said on Thursday an Israeli strike on Iran \u201ccould very well happen\u201d but reiterated his hopes for a peaceful resolution.<\/p>\n
US intelligence had indicated that Israel was making preparations for a strike against Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, and US officials said on condition of anonymity that Israel could attack in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Israel has long discussed striking its longtime foe Iran in an effort to block Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n
The US military is planning for the full range of contingencies in the Middle East, including the possibility that it might have to help evacuate American civilians, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
Source: Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israel launched a \u201cpre-emptive strike\u201d on Iran, the country\u2019s defence minister said early on Friday (Jun 13), after US President Donald Trump had warned that Israel could soon strike Iran\u2019s nuclear sites. \u201cFollowing the State of Israel\u2019s pre-emptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n