TEL AVIV—Israel penetrated Iran’s main uranium enrichment site at Natanz and killed several top Iranian military officials and senior nuclear scientists in an ongoing operation that also neutralized an initial retaliatory drone attack, according to Israeli officials.

The surprise assault—launched overnight, carried out by approximately 200 Israeli aircraft, and supported by covert ground operations inside Iran—hit dozens of high-value targets across the country. The Israeli military said the strikes marked the first phase of Operation Rising Lion, a "historic preemptive strike" aimed at eliminating what officials described as an existential nuclear threat.

"We struck the Iranians. We struck their nuclear plant, and we struck military targets before they had the ability to strike us with nuclear weapons," a military official said in a briefing on Friday. 

The initial attack included five waves of airstrikes, coordinated with sabotage missions by Israeli operatives embedded in Iran, officials said. According to Israeli intelligence, the covert teams disabled radar systems and launched drone and missile attacks on surface-to-air missile sites and ballistic missile platforms.

Shortly after the strikes, Iran launched more than 100 drones toward Israel from multiple locations. None have so far Israeli territory, according to the military, which said air defenses intercepted the barrage over a wide area.

"The first wave of the drones and the cruise missiles was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force all over the skies of the Middle East," said Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "They didn’t succeed to penetrate the defensive system of Israel even once."

Netanyahu called the opening strike "very successful."

"We struck the senior command, we struck senior scientists that advance development of nuclear weapons, we struck nuclear installations," he said in a video message. "We are racking up achievements, but I know, and you know, there are no easy wars." 

Netanyahu warned Israelis that they may need to spend "far longer periods in shelters than we were accustomed to until now."

President Donald Trump, who confirmed U.S. awareness of the operation in advance, praised the attack as "excellent."

"We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it," Trump told ABC News, referring to ongoing U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. "They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. A lot more."

In posts to Truth Social, Trump noted, "Today is day 61" of a 60-day ultimatum he had previously given Tehran. "Now they have, perhaps, a second chance," he said.

Amidror, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said the Trump administration likely assisted with regional intelligence sharing and air defense coordination and helped Israel surprise Iran.

"The Americans knew about it, and probably some of their declarations were part of the deception process," he said.

Tehran’s leadership reacted with fury to the attack. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had "prepared a bitter fate for itself," and the Iranian Foreign Ministry declared the strikes a "declaration of war." Iran Revolutionary Guard Council spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi vowed the country would respond "at a time and place of its choosing." 

Iran canceled scheduled talks with the United States in Oman and put its military on high alert.

The Israeli military confirmed that Natanz—home to Iran’s most advanced centrifuge arrays and underground uranium enrichment infrastructure—was among the key targets. 

While the military has not released full damage assessments, Amidror said the Natanz facility was "probably destroyed or almost destroyed," showing that Israel is capable of reaching such enrichment facilities deep underground. 

Satellite imagery of the Natanz facility appeared to show damage consistent with deep-penetration munitions. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization confirmed that the facility had been struck but said no radiation leaks were detected. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported no radiological anomalies at known nuclear sites. According to Hebrew media, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Israeli president Isaac Herzog that Natanz had been "severely damaged."

Months before the operation, Mossad operatives smuggled precision weapons into Iran, established covert drone bases, and placed vehicle-based missile systems near Iranian military sites, security officials told Hebrew media. The assets were activated simultaneously with the airstrikes, contributing to the destruction of Iranian air defenses and missile infrastructure, the sources said.

"The intelligence was very good," Amidror said. "The Mossad integrated into the military superbly. The ability of Israel to neutralize the anti-air systems in Iran is an example of how long preparations and good intelligence can be implemented."

The military confirmed the elimination of several top Iranian military leaders in the attack, including Iranian military chief of staff Bahari, IRGC commander Hossein Salami, IRGC air force commander Amir Ali Hajizader, and emergency command head Ali Rashid. Iran confirmed the deaths.

Also among the casualties were at least six senior Iranian nuclear scientists, tracked for weeks before the strike, according to Israeli officials. While Tehran has not confirmed those deaths, Israeli journalist Amit Segal quoted a senior official as saying, "Most of Iran’s top nuclear scientists are no longer alive."

Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said on Friday afternoon that the attack was continuing "at this hour."

Defrin said "the operation is only beginning," and the military is following Iran’s plans and "is preparing for a response from Iran."

According to Amidror, the goal of the operation is not to permanently eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability, but to buy time. 

"We are playing for time to postpone the ability of the Iranians to produce the weapon system," he said. We don’t think that we can destroy everything. But the more we destroy, the better."