U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday it is “not too late” for Iran to stop Israeli military strikes by agreeing to a deal to curb its nuclear program, even as Israeli forces launched one of the most sweeping and deadly assaults ever carried out against Iranian targets.
Israel’s offensive, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, began before dawn Friday and struck deep into Iranian territory, including the country’s heavily fortified Natanz nuclear site. The strikes reportedly killed dozens of senior Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, in what appeared to be a decapitation strike against Iran’s military command.
Iran vowed retaliation. “The gates of hell will open,” warned newly appointed Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, following the reported deaths of his predecessor, Hossein Salami, and Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri.
As explosions continued into Friday evening, Trump told Reuters by phone that nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington scheduled for Sunday were still on the table, despite the assault. “It’s not too late,” he said. “Iran must make a deal before there is nothing left.”
Trump later wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social: “I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.”
Inside Iran, the mood was tense. Residents described fear and uncertainty. “People on my street rushed out of their homes in panic,” said Marziyeh, 39, who lives near Natanz. Iranian media showed images of destroyed homes and said nearly 80 civilians were killed and hundreds injured.
Some Iranians blamed the country’s leadership for provoking the strikes, while others rallied around it. “I will fight and die for our right to a nuclear program,” said Ali, a member of the pro-government Basij militia in Qom.
Iran’s nuclear program has long been at the center of tensions with Israel and the West. While Tehran insists its ambitions are peaceful, Israel and others accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons capability. Earlier this week, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were just the beginning. “History will record that our generation stood its ground, acted in time, and secured our common future,” he said in a televised address invoking Holocaust-era warnings.
A senior Israeli security official told the AP that Mossad operatives were involved in pre-strike intelligence efforts and that an Israeli drone base had been set up near Tehran. Israel also claimed to have destroyed much of Iran’s air defense infrastructure.
Iran denied Israeli claims that it launched about 100 drones in response. There were no confirmed reports of drones reaching Israeli territory.
The United Nations Security Council was set to meet at Iran’s request. Tehran called the Israeli strikes “cowardly” and “unlawful,” and vowed a proportional response.
Despite the flare-up, oil output in the region remained unaffected, though crude prices spiked amid fears of a broader conflict. OPEC said the situation did not yet warrant changes to production levels.
Iran’s regional influence has diminished over the past year following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, heavy Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas’s military losses in Gaza.
The Trump administration had been working to restart nuclear negotiations to replace the 2015 deal Trump exited in 2018. Iran rejected the latest U.S. proposal prior to the Israeli strikes.