TEHRAN, 13th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Israel launched a wide-scale strikes against Iran early Friday, targeting the capital Tehran and several other cities, as well as numerous military and nuclear sites across the country.

The strikes resulted in the deaths of top Iranian military leaders, including Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces; Major General Hossein Salami, Commander-in-Chief of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); and Major General Gholamali Rashid, Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters at the IRGC. Prominent nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and theoretical physicist Dr Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi were also dead.

Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral who serves as adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, was "critically injured".

Explosions echoed across Tehran, with Israeli sources confirming they had targeted military and nuclear sites. The "Natanz enrichment facility has been hit several times," Iranian state TV reported, showing footage of heavy smoke billowing from the site-a development also confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In addition, three military sites in East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran were reportedly hit.

Following the attack, Iran announced the appointment of Habibollah Sayyari as temporary Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and Ahmad Vahidi as the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned "any military escalation in the Middle East," said Farhan Haq, his deputy spokesperson, in a statement on Israel's strikes against Iran.

The UN chief "is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear programme are underway," the statement said.

The Israeli strikes drew widespread condemnation from countries across the region and beyond, describing it as a dangerous escalation that undermines the foundations of regional stability and threatens to ignite a broader conflict with severe consequences for both regional and international peace.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Iran, Israel, Iraq, and Jordan all announced the closure of their airspace to civilian flights.

Oil prices surged in response to the Israeli offensive, with West Texas Intermediate crude jumping 12.6 percent to US$76.61 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 12.2 percent to $77.77.