Israel Strikes Iran's Nuclear Sites, Kills Top Iranian Military Officials

Israel carried out a massive military strike that was aimed at taking out Iran’s nuclear and top Iranian military officials. Iran has retaliated against Israel, with the world watching to see if this will escalate into an all-out war between the two nations.

Tensions between Israel and Iran date back to the South Lebanon conflict in the mid-1980s and have persisted at varying levels since. This latest offensive from the IDF and Mossad was aimed at taking down Iranian nuclear, missile, and military sites, and Israeli officials have reportedly taken out an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) leader along with two other top commanders, which Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed.

As reported by several outlets, including CNN, Reuters, and The Hill,  the attack comes after months of negotiation between the United States and Iran to complete a new nuclear deal. While most major nations have largely agreed to scale down nuclear weapons production, the  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discovered that Iran was fast-tracking the enrichment of uranium, which set off warning signals to Israeli leaders.

Iran has launched over 200 drones in retaliation against the overnight Israeli strikes, setting the stage for more military offensives from both nations. President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he was aware of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that the United States had no involvement in the strikes.

“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,” Rubio said Thursday night (June 12).

“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. 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 U.S. interests or personnel,” Rubio continued.

On X, formerly Twitter, most are pointing out the impetus of a large-scale war between Israel and Iran, while also aiming barbs at President Trump over his foreign policy aims. We’ve got those reactions below.

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Photo: Getty

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