Live: Iran holds funeral for top military, nuclear figures killed in Israeli strikes
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Cyprus airports operator Hermes said 32 flights from the Middle East had been diverted to airports in Larnaca and Paphos by 0800 GMT on Friday.
It said that at the present time, requests for diversions were 'at a minimum'.
Reporting by Reuters
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi is set to travel to Iran to assess the situation following major Israeli military strikes targeting the Natanz nuclear complex.
In a statement to a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors, Grossi said the other main enrichment centre in Iran, Fordow, was not hit and neither was another nuclear facility in Esfahan, citing Iranian authorities.
Grossi did not indicate the extent of the damage at Natanz, but said that there were no elevated radiation levels detected at the site.
Grossi further called on all parties "to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation," warning that "any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond".
"I have indicated to the respective authorities my readiness to travel at the earliest to assess the situation and ensure safety, security and non-proliferation in Iran."
Turkey's foreign ministry condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, and accused Israel of pursuing a "strategic destabilisation policy" in the Middle East.
"This attack, which is a clear violation of international law, is a provocation serving Israel's strategic destabilisation policy in the region," the ministry said in a statement.
"The fact that these attacks took place during an intensified period of negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear programme shows that the Netanyahu government does not wish to resolve any issue through diplomatic means and does not refrain from risking regional stability and global peace for its own interests."
Turkey called on Israel to immediately put an end to its aggressive actions, which could lead to larger conflicts.
"We reiterate that we do not wish to see more bloodshed and destruction in the Middle East," the statement said.
"We urgently call on the international community to take action to prevent the spread of war."
Jordan's state news agency reported that it intercepted a number of missiles and drones that entered its airspace after being fired by Iran at Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel's public broadcaster reported that Israel began intercepting drones over Syria, while the country's Channel 12 reported that its air force was intercepting UAVs over Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli military has said it has begun intercepting Iranian drones outside of its borders, more than an hour after they were launched by the Islamic Republic.
A military official was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying that those not intercepted were expected to reach Israel within an hour or so.
Hamas has condemned Israeli attacks on Iran, and has urged the international community to take "a unified stance to deter" Israel and "put an end to its crimes."
“[Israel's] aggression constitutes a dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilise the region and reflects the extremist Netanyahu government’s insistence on dragging the region into open confrontations," the group said in a statement on Telegram.
The Palestinian movement called the attack "a brutal aggression that constitutes a flagrant violation of international norms and conventions," adding that it reaffirmed that Israel "poses an existential threat to the entire region."
Hamas expressed "full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran" and offered its "deepest condolences" to the Iranian leadership and people for the deaths of senior commanders and nuclear scientists.
The Republican Guard-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported that six nuclear scientists were killed in Israel's attack on Iran.
"Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feqhi, Motalleblizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoun Abbasi were the nuclear scientists martyred" in Israel’s attack, Tasnim reported.
Israel's military says more than 100 sites were targeted in Iran and that over 200 fighter jets took part in the attack.
In a social media post, the Israeli army said that they believed "three senior leaders of the Iranian military and security establishment" had been killed.
The Israeli army named the three as Hossein Salami, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and Ghulam Ali Rashid, the commander of the Iranian Hatem al-Anbiya Command.
The Times of Israel reported on Friday that Israel's strikes on Iran were enabled by "breakthrough intelligence" obtained by Israel in the past year.
Citing an unnamed Israeli army official, the Times of Israel reported that Israeli units established in the last year "focused on Iran and preparations for a large-scale strike."
Following Israel's strike on Iran in October, "the Intelligence Directorate carried out an unprecedented concentration of efforts to build an opening blow against senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists," the unnamed official said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that it is monitoring the situation in Iran and has confirmed that the Natanz enrichment facility is among the targets.
"The Agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country," it said in a statement.
Israel's army chief has said the military’s strikes against Iran on Friday may not achieve "absolute success" and warned Israelis to brace for likely retaliation from the Islamic republic.
"I can’t promise absolute success - the Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response, the expected toll will be different to what we are used to," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said, while calling the strikes on Iran a "historic campaign unlike any other."
US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has said Israel's attacks on Iran are "clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Iran" and igniting "a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America."
The democratic senator said a war between Israel and Iran "may be good for Netanyahu’s domestic politics" but will likely be disastrous for "the rest of the region."
"Iran would not be this close to possessing a nuclear weapon if Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu had not forced America out of the nuclear agreement with Iran that had brought Europe, Russia, and China together behind the United States to successfully contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions," he added.
My full statement:
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 13, 2025
Israel's attack on Iran, clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Iran, risks a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America and is further evidence of how little respect world powers - including our own allies -…
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has said Israel's decision to strike Iran was carried out independently.
"The decision to strike in Iran was entirely independent." he said in an interview with CNN.
When asked if Israel expected the US to assist Israel in case of an Iranian response, he said: "Don't think we should go into speculation."
The most senior Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, Jack Reed, has called Israel’s strikes on Iran, "alarming" and "reckless."
In a statement, Reed said: "Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence."
He added that the issues between Israel and Iran are "complex", but said "military aggression of this scale is never the answer."
A strong statement from Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, against Israel’s attack on Iran: “Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence.” pic.twitter.com/pcZ5efNGx0
— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) June 13, 2025
Iranian state TV reported that children were among those killed in the Israeli attacks on residential areas in Tehran on Friday.
Videos seen by Middle East Eye showed multiple residential apartment buildings in Tehran were hit, and were either partially or completely destroyed.
