Dozens injured in Iranian missile strike on Tel Aviv

Update:  Friday, June 13, 2025
6:20 p.m. ET

The Israel Defense Forces reported Friday night local time that Iran launched dozens of missiles at Israel. Israeli emergency services reported nearly three-dozen people injured from the strikes, including one women who was critically injured. Police and bomb squads were responding to damaged areas in Tel Aviv, Israeli police said. The attack came in retaliation for IDF missile strikes earlier the same day against an Iranian nuclear site. Iran’s attack is targeting homes and families, according to IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.

How are leaders responding? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran after the strikes began, attempting to rally the people’s support against the Iranian regime. Israel is working to reduce the threat Iran poses to Israel, which clears the way for the Iranian people to claim freedom from the oppressive Islamic regime, he said. Israel is fighting the totalitarian regime of Iran, not the people it oppresses, he added. Iran has never been weaker, and more strikes are on the way, so stand up and make your voices heard, the prime minister said. 

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting after the strikes began.

Original story:

The Israeli military on Friday claimed to have killed the Iranian Armed Forces’ chief of staff, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ commander, and the commander of Iran’s Emergency Command. Israel also said its strikes killed Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC’s Air Force and other senior air force officials. Iran confirmed the deaths of several of the top military leaders, as well as two nuclear scientists, according to Iranian state media. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Friday appointed new generals to lead the IRGC following the strikes. Israeli fighter jets also struck an Iranian uranium enrichment site in the Natanz region during the overnight operation.

Has Iran struck back? Iran on Friday launched more than 100 drones at Israel in response to the strike, said IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin. Israel said its forces intercepted the majority of the projectiles. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday vowed to respond to the attack and said Iran would make Israel regret its actions.

Iranian state-run television, as well as the Times of Oman are reporting that Iran is withdrawing from nuclear negotiations with the United States that were scheduled to take place in Oman on Sunday. Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei issued a statement on Friday warning that Israel had sealed a bitter and painful destiny for itself with the attacks, according to a report by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. He also promised that Iran would respond harshly.

How have international leaders responded? Though U.S. officials said the country was not involved in the Israeli strikes, President Donald Trump on Friday suggested the attacks would continue unless Iran agreed to a nuclear deal. The United States gave Iran multiple chances to solidify a nuclear agreement before the strikes, Trump said in a social media post. American leaders were scheduled to work on such a deal with their Iranian counterparts in Oman this weekend. 

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel and Iran to de-escalate the situation, as did European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Meanwhile, the Russian and Egyptian foreign ministries condemned Israel’s actions. Hamas leaders on Friday expressed solidarity with Iran.

Dig deeper: Read Travis Kircher’s report about the initial attacks.