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The Israeli military launched a massive attack onIran on Friday in a dramatic escalation of their long-running conflict that drew early retaliation from Tehran and raised the risk of another war in the Middle East.

The strikes, which killed senior Iranian scientists and top military officials, involved more than 200 fighter jets. They were aimed at Iran’s main enrichment facility and targets associated with the country’s ballistic missile program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly vowed retaliation. Soon after the strikes, Iran launched more than 100 drones towards Israel, Israeli Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.

Iran has long denied it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The United States, which had been publicly urging Israel to hold off on such an attack as the Trump administration continues talks with Iran on its rapidly advancing nuclear program, said it was not involved and was not providing assistance.

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The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said Iranian authorities had confirmed Natanz, Iran’s largest nuclear site in the central Isfahan province, had been struck but that there was no increase in radiation levels observed there.

It said three other nuclear sites — the Fordow, Isfahan, and Bushehr sites — had not been impacted.

Other targets appeared to be residential compounds for top military officials. A main building for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), founded in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend the regime against internal and external threats, also appeared to have been attacked and could be seen burning on state television.

Among those killed was Mohammadhossein Bagheri, Iran’s most senior military official, multiple Iranian state news outlets reported. Bagheri, who was chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, had a status equivalent to that of Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran’s secretive Quds Force who was assasinated by the U.S. in a drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.

Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the IRGC, was also killed in last night's strikes, according to the force's media arm.

Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, a top official in the IRGC; Fereydoon Abbasi, a nuclear scientist and former atomic energy chief; and Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi, a nuclear scientist, were also killed, according to Iranian state media.

Iran blames U.S.

Early on Friday, President Donald Trump said he had given Iran “chance after chance to make a deal.”

“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” he added on a post on Truth Social on Friday.

Still, Israel’s move appeared to be a significant break with the Trump administration, which had been set for a sixth round of nuclear talks with Iran in Oman this Sunday. On Thursday Trump said he would prefer an agreement over an Israeli strike and that “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”

A big worry for the U.S. is possible retaliation by Iran against American personnel or assets in the region. After the Israeli attack began, the State Department advised employees at the U.S. Embassy in Israel and their families to shelter in place.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not involved in strikes and its “top priority” was protecting American forces in the region.

“Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” he said.

Israeli officials had communicated to Washington that Israel’s action was “necessary for its self-defense,” Rubio added.

While the U.S. said Israel had acted unilaterally, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attack could not have happened “without the coordination and approval of the United States.”

“The American government, as the main supporter of this regime, is also responsible for the dangerous consequences of these actions,” he said.

U.S. officials had earlier announced the voluntary departure of nonessential employees from the region.

Israel became more serious about attacking Iran as Washington and Tehran appeared closer to reaching a preliminary agreement that included provisions about uranium enrichment that Israel views as unacceptable.

The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency formally found this week that Iran is not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years.

The IAEA's Director General Rafael Grossi said on X that the IAEA was closely monitoring the “deeply concerning” situation.

He later said Iranian authorities had told the agency that the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant had not been targeted and that no increase in radiation levels has been observed at Natanz.

"I have repeatedly stated that nuclear facilities must never be attacked ... as it could harm both people and the environment," Grossi said in a separate statement published on the IAEA's website.

Israel and Iran also traded attacks in October, starting with an Iranian attack on Israel after Israel launched an attack on Lebanon that killed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Officials said most of the 200 missiles Iran launched toward Israel were intercepted.

Israel responded with three waves of strikes on Iranian military sites, though it avoided nuclear and oil facilities in what appeared to be a limited attack.