Why has Israel struck Iran? What we know so far

The death toll for Iran and Israel is expected to grow as fighting between both sides continues, three days on from the deadly Israeli attacks on nuclear sites and military leaders in Tehran.

Here’s what we know about why Israel launched the first attack, how Iran retaliated, and what comes next – plus, what Australia and the United States are saying about it.

Fire and smoke rise into the sky after an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot in Tehran on June 15, two days after Israel first struck the city and other targets across Iran.Credit: Getty Images

Where has Israel struck?

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the target was specifically “nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb”.

In a recorded video statement, Netanyahu described Iran’s nuclear capabilities as a “clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival”. He vowed to “fend off the threat of annihilation”.

An Israeli military official said that same day his country had targeted Iranian nuclear sites, without identifying them, the Associated Press reported. The official spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation, which also targeted military sites.

By Saturday night, some of Iran’s most vital oil and gas facilities had been struck. Bloomberg reported on Monday morning that a key Iranian nuclear facility had been dealt critical damage during the weekend airstrikes.

Key sites in Iran that have been attacked by Israel

Explosions rang out in Tehran on Friday about 3am local time (about 10am AEST). Multiple sites across Iran were reportedly targeted by airstrikes and covert Mossad sabotage operations in what appeared to be the most significant attack the country has faced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

The extent of the damage to key Iranian nuclear sites is still being established. Both sides have supplied contrasting assessments on the success of the Israeli operation.

On Friday, Iranian state television said its Natanz nuclear facility had been hit in the initial strikes. It aired footage of black smoke rising from the site. It said there was “no sign of nuclear contamination” at the time. The enrichment facility of the Natanz plant is underground, protected by a 7.6 metre thick concrete shield. Satellite imagery shows some above-ground structures have been toppled since Friday, and the Wall Street Journal was reporting on Monday morning that Natanz’s uranium enrichment facility may have imploded.

Israel on Saturday said its strikes on Natanz and the uranium conversion Isfahan facility had damaged both sites “significantly”. Iran said the damage to both facilities at that time was limited. On Monday morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that several Israeli strikes had left the Isfahan facility, 400km south of Tehran, with critical damage, possibly setting the Islamic Republic’s uranium fuel cycle back by months.

Iran’s main known nuclear facilities include Natanz, Isfahan, the Fordow enrichment site south of Tehran, the Arak heavy water reactor, the Bushehr nuclear power plant and an unfinished reactor in Khondab. It is understood residential areas in Tehran and several other Iranian cities have been hit in the strikes and that production at the world’s biggest gasfield – the South Pars, which Iran shares with Qatar – has been suspended due to a fire caused by an Israeli strike on Saturday.

How did Iran respond?

Regional security sources said Tehran was unlikely to respond with similarly effective strikes because its missile capabilities and military network in the region had been severely degraded by Israel since October 7, 2023.

In a statement to Iranian state television on Friday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will receive a “harsh punishment” in response to the strikes.He said Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that Israel’s “vile nature” had been revealed in the attack.

An Iranian security source previously told Reuters ”the response to the Israeli attack will be harsh and decisive”. A spokesman for the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces said Israel would “pay a heavy price for the attack”.

State news agency IRNA on Saturday said Iran had launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem and Israeli TV stations showed plumes of smoke rising in Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said the missiles had numbered fewer than 100 and that most had been intercepted or had fallen short.

Rishon LeZion, Tamra and Bat Yam have also been hit. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Sunday said they had also targeted Jaffa, home to one of the oldest operating ports in Israel, with several ballistic missiles in the 24 hours prior.

Why did Israel attack Iran?

Israel’s initial attacks on Friday came as tensions reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. The board of governors at the IAEA for the first time in 20 years on Thursday censured Iran for its refusal to work with its inspectors.

Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more advanced ones. Israel for years has said it would not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon, something Tehran says it doesn’t want – though officials there have repeatedly said it could.

An Israeli military official told Reuters that Israel saw Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons as an existential threat, and that it would operate to remove their capabilities.

The US had been preparing for something to happen, pulling some diplomats from Iraq’s capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East.

Who has been killed in the attacks?

A security source told Reuters after Israel’s initial strikes on Friday that Khamenei was alive and was being briefed continuously on the situation. It was also reported by Reuters that Khamenei’s top political, military and nuclear adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had been “critically injured” in the strikes. Shamkhani’s death was later reported by Iranian state media.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was reportedly killed in a strike that hit the Iranian Armed Forces’ branch headquarters. Iranian state television said Salami was “martyred” during the attacks.

It’s understood nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi are among the dead, according to Iranian state media, and that US President Donald Trump had vetoed a plan presented by Israel to the US to kill Khamenei.

The death toll in Iran is at least 224 people and there have been 1277 hospitalisations since hostilities began, according to Iran’s state media, which said most of the dead were civilians. At least 14 people have been killed in Israel, and at least 380 have been injured.

What has Israel said?

Netanyahu vowed on Friday to carry out an extensive operation to remove Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

“Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” Netanyahu said. “This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

A military official said Israel was also targeting Iranian commanders and that it was striking “dozens” of nuclear sites across the country.

Israel’s ambassador to Australia delivered a veiled barb to Foreign Minister Penny Wong and other Western leaders pushing for diplomacy on Sunday after Wong revealed she had phoned her counterpart in Iran to urge restraint after Israel’s strikes.

What did Donald Trump say about it?

The US has made it clear it was not involved in the attacks and nor would it participate in Israeli action against Iran.

Trump had previously warned of possible “massive conflict” over Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the US was not involved and warned Iran off attacking US targets throughout the Middle East as part of any retaliatory response.

“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,” he said in a statement.

“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence. President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”

As the explosions in Tehran started, Trump was on the lawn of the White House mingling with members of Congress. It was unclear if he had been informed, but the president continued shaking hands and posing for pictures for several minutes.

With Associated Press and Reuters.

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