IDF targets Tabriz airport in new wave of strikes, destroys Natanz nuclear site

IDF Spokesperson Brigadier-General Effie Defrin on Friday told reporters that the military has significantly damaged Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

He also noted that Israel must prepare for a lengthy operation, and that the attack plan is "a gradual one."

When questioned about US President Donald Trump's response to Israel's attack on Iran and whether the IDF would strike Fordow, Defrin said that the IDF had not yet unleashed all of its power or targeted every person or site that it was capable of striking.

He added that he would not reveal in advance whether and when Israel might strike Fordow.

The hardliners in Iran who rejected the chance to reach a nuclear deal with the United States are "all dead now," US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday amid Israel's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

"I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest terms, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, how close they got, they just could not get it done," the US president wrote.

"Certain Iranian hardliners spoke barely, but they did not know what was about to happen. They are all dead now, and it will only get worse," he warned. 

Trump further called on Iran to reach a deal, as "there is still time to make this slaughter and the next come to an end..Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left."

Trump: US will defend Israel if 'they are attacked'

Earlier on Friday, Trump stressed that the US will "defend Israel if they are attacked," shortly after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran as part of Operation Rising Lion.

Trump said that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and that the United States was hoping to get back to the negotiating table, in an interview with a Fox News following the start of Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

"Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back," Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin quoted Trump as saying in a post on X.

"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," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

"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."

"Israel is doing a favor to America right now by taking out Iran's nuclear capacity," US Senator Ted Cruz told Fox News.

"We don't know how this is going to end, but a nuclear Iran would be a profound threat to Israel and a profound threat to America," Cruz added.

.@SenTedCruz: "Israel is doing a favor to America right now by taking out Iran's nuclear capacity. We don't know how this is going to end, but … pic.twitter.com/8zUu8EcpEc

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 13, 2025

Dozens of Israeli aircraft participated in an initial wave of strikes on dozens of military targets and Iranian nuclear sites early on Friday morning.

US security council will meet

US President Donald Trump will attend a National Security Council meeting on Friday morning, the White House said late on Thursday.

The IDF confirmed that the reason for the attack is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world," the military said.

Reuters contributed to this report

The IAEA Board of Governors will convene a special session on Monday following Israel's rampant strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities on Friday morning, The Jerusalem Post can exclusively confirm.

The special session was requested by Iran and supported by Russia, the Post learned.

This is a developing story.

The IDF has conducted a second wave of airstrikes on Tabriz, Shiraz, and Khorramabad in Iran on Friday, local reports indicated. 

Footage shared on social media shows smoke rising in the Iranian cities.

Reports indicate that the targets struck included Tabriz Shahid Madani International Airport and a missile manufacturing facility in Shiraz.
 
 

The Mossad on Friday morning has led a series of attack operations and other missions in the heart of Iran.

These operations are focused on harming Iran's strategic missile capabilities.

They are also focused on harming Tehran's air defense capabilities.

Mossad's previous operations inside Iran

In recent years, the Mossad has managed a host of operations inside Iran.

It was involved in secret aspects of the April 2024 and October 2024 attacks by Israel.

It was also involved in seizing Iran's nuclear archives in 2018, a process which helped swing the IAEA in favor of Israel's highlighting Iran's nuclear violations.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, former prime minister Naftali Bennett has confirmed that the Mossad destroyed over 100 Iranian drones in February 2022.

Iran has accused Israel of a similar operation in January 2023.

Iran has also accused the Mossad of destroying two separate nuclear sites at Natanz in July 2020 and April 2021, as well as at Karaj in June 2021 and of killing its nuclear chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020.

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday afternoon said that most of the IRGC senior air force officials were killed during the IDF strikes.

Shrapnel fragments from ballistic missiles launched by Iran against Israel landed in Syria late Friday morning, after being intercepted by the IDF.

Cyprus airports operator Hermes said 32 flights from the Middle East had been diverted to airports in Larnaca and Paphos by 8:00 a.m. GMT on Friday.

It said that at the present time, requests for diversions were 'at a minimum'.

Roughly 100 explosive-laden drones were launched from Iran and Iraq toward Israel in the early hours of Friday, forcing the Israel Air Force into an intensive interception effort, closing civilian airspace and sending the Home Front Command scrambling to prepare residents for possible sheltering.

Among the incoming aircraft were two of Tehran’s most formidable models, the Shahed 129 and Shahed 136, whose capabilities illustrate the scale of the current threat.

The overnight assault began when scores of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) took off from Iranian territory and other points across the Middle East, including Iraq.

While some were intercepted outside Israeli airspace, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned that additional drones could reach the country in the coming hours, describing the incident as a prolonged threat that requires the public to follow security instructions closely.

Shahed 129: A long-range, multi-mission platform

The Shahed 129 is a sophisticated tactical UAV modeled on Western systems such as the American MQ-1 Predator.

Capable of staying aloft for up to 24 hours and flying some 1,700 kilometers—roughly the distance from central Iran to Israel—the drone allows the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to strike or gather intelligence without relying on mid-mission refueling or relay stations.

Armed with up to four guided Sadid missiles, the Shahed 129 can hit ground targets with high precision.

It carries thermal imaging equipment, advanced communications links and remote-control systems, enabling it to operate in areas saturated with signal jamming or electronic warfare.

The IRGC has used the platform in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, striking US assets and strategic sites while minimizing early detection.

Western intelligence believes Iran is steadily upgrading the model’s munitions accuracy, stealth profile and navigation suite.

Shahed 136: Cheap, simple and deadly

In contrast, the Shahed 136 is a far less expensive system—but no less lethal.

Designed as a one-way “suicide drone,” it carries a 20- to 50-kilogram warhead and crashes into its pre-programmed target. Its basic construction—straight wings, a narrow fuselage and a small rear piston engine—keeps costs low, allowing Iran to manufacture and launch the aircraft in dense waves. Even if a portion are shot down, others can break through.

Although the Shahed 136 lacks cutting-edge navigation gear, its onboard GPS (and occasionally a small forward-facing camera) provides adequate accuracy against fixed or lightly defended sites.

Flying low and relatively slowly, the drone can evade radar—especially when dozens are in the air at once. Russia has used the type extensively against Ukrainian power grids and residential blocks, while Iran’s proxies have deployed it against US bases in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Those battlefield lessons have cemented the model’s status as Tehran’s preferred long-range harassment tool.

A combined doctrine

Friday’s attack showcased Iran’s doctrine of pairing sophisticated, weaponized UAVs with swarms of cheaper loitering munitions.

The strategy aims to saturate Israeli air-defense networks, confuse radar operators and create both physical and psychological damage on the home front.

As the IDF continues to track the remaining drones and assess the fallout, Israelis were urged to keep smartphones nearby for real-time alerts and to review the quickest route to a protected room.

Defense officials stressed that the situation was fluid and that additional interceptions—or impacts—could occur throughout the day.

The United States and Israel took part in a joint deception of Iran ahead of the IDF's strikes on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, a senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Friday morning.

According to the official, the nuclear negotiations scheduled for Sunday were part of the deception tactic used against Iran.

Earlier on Friday morning, Iran announced on state television that it would not participate in the nuclear negotiations with the United States that were scheduled for Sunday, or any negotiations until further notice.

Israeli officials were initially concerned that US President Donald Trump's Thursday evening comments, suggesting Israel "might attack," alerted the Iranians.

The statement, which was made at around 7:00 p.m. Israel time, mere hours before the attacks, was perceived as a kind of green light for Israel. The fear that this remark could expose the attack operation ultimately led to Trump's late-night tweet at midnight, stating that "the US seeks a diplomatic solution."

This is a developing story.