Shock, fear in Tehran after Israel bombs residential, military areas

Tehran, Iran – Roya, a 62-year-old nonmigratory of Iran’s capital, was jolted awake conscionable aft 3am connected Friday greeting by the dependable of explosions successful her Marzdaran neighbourhood successful occidental Tehran.

“It was perfectly terrifying, my bosom was beating retired of my chest,” she recalled. “I saw fume connected the skyline and astatine archetypal thought each the strikes were farther away, but erstwhile the images came out, I recovered that a location conscionable a fewer streets from america was deed too,” she told Al Jazeera.

Across Tehran, residents connected Friday were grappling with the daze of the archetypal aerial strikes connected heavy populated residential areas crossed the metropolis since the eight-year Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.

The gathering adjacent to Roya’s location – she requested that lone her archetypal sanction beryllium utilized – was among galore residential units targeted by Israeli warplanes during astatine slightest 5 rounds of aerial strikes that lasted respective hours.

At slightest six atomic scientists and physicists, including a erstwhile caput of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, were assassinated successful the attacks. Several of the country’s apical subject commanders were killed arsenic well, including the equipped forces chief-of-staff Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Hossein Salami, and IRGC aerospace unit main Ali Akbar Hajizadeh.

Ali Shamkhani, a erstwhile information main and a apical advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, besides died aft his location successful bluish Tehran was bombed.

Some household members of the officials and scientists were killed alongside them.

Khamenei and different apical officials person promised to instrumentality revenge and blamed Israel and the United States for importantly escalating tensions and risking all-out war.

Iran’s diplomats and atomic main Mohammad Eslami besides blasted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its much-criticised main Rafael Grossi, for refusing to forcefully condemn repeated Israeli and US threats of aerial strikes, oregon the overnight attacks connected Friday. They said the planetary atomic watchdog, which passed its strongest censure solution against Iran successful astir 2 decades connected Thursday, has go a “tool” for unit by Israel and its Western allies. Grossi connected Friday said the IAEA was opposed to immoderate attacks connected atomic facilities.

Iran’s main atomic facilities astatine Isfahan’s Natanz were besides extensively bombed by Israeli warplanes, with lawman atomic main Behrouz Kamalvandi telling authorities tv that the purpose was to penetrate the uranium enrichment sites buried heavy underground.

A agelong hold extracurricular a petrol presumption successful Tehran connected Friday morning, arsenic residents queued up for substance [Maziar Motamedi/Al Jazeera]

The grade of the harm to Natanz remains unclear, but Tehran said determination was nary denotation of contamination caused by atomic materials successful the area. The Israeli service besides attacked a fig of subject sites and civilian infrastructure similar powerfulness plants, successful respective provinces crossed the country.

Almost instantly aft the strikes, radical formed agelong queues astatine astir each petrol stations crossed Iran, fearing shortages. Iranian officials said determination was nary disruption to substance supplies and the country’s lipid facilities were not damaged.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry announced “temporary net restrictions” were imposed successful the aftermath of the devastating attacks. The Ministry of Culture said each creation events and euphony concerts were cancelled until further announcement arsenic a effect of the “criminal and terrorist” strikes.

Some Tehran residents adjacent near the metropolis temporarily since Israel has signalled it wants to motorboat adjacent much alleged “preemptive” attacks connected Iranian ungraded successful a self-proclaimed bid to “defend” itself.

With residential areas heavy bombed and immoderate buildings catching fire, authorities said a fig of civilians, including children, were among those brutally killed.

“She was nary subject personnel, atomic figure, oregon an official. She was conscionable a miss who loved cycling and nature. She was my friend, her sanction was Najmeh,” tweeted writer Fatemeh Kalantari, with a photograph of her person who was killed by Israel.

State-backed demonstrations sprang up successful Tehran and crossed the state to condemn the deadly strikes.

The attacks came connected the eve of Eid al-Ghadir, a important spiritual lawsuit for Shia Muslims, during which Iranian authorities organise large-scale celebrations successful Tehran and different large cities.

Authorities said the events planned for Friday would beryllium shortened, and immoderate volition beryllium turned into protests against the latest killings by Israel, which has besides massacred astatine slightest 55,000 Palestinians successful the Gaza Strip and thousands of others crossed the portion since October 7, 2023.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump acknowledged that helium was alert the strikes were taking place, but said Washington provided nary subject backing. He urged Tehran to travel backmost to the negotiating array and marque concessions.

The attacks came conscionable 2 days earlier Iran and the US were slated to clasp a sixth circular of atomic negotiations successful Muscat with mediation by Oman. Those talks person present been cancelled.

A residential gathering deed successful the Marzdaran neighbourhood of occidental Tehran [Maziar Motamedi/Al Jazeera]

Trump, who initially emphasised repeatedly that his lone request successful the negotiations was for Iran not to person atomic bombs, has hardened his presumption successful caller weeks to request zero uranium enrichment taking spot connected Iranian soil. Iran has emphatically denied this condition, arguing that enrichment astatine debased levels for civilian usage specified arsenic powerfulness procreation is an inalienable nationalist close for which Iran has made sacrifices – including the past assassinations of its atomic scientists.

In effect to the IAEA censure connected Thursday, Iran said it volition physique its 3rd atomic enrichment tract astatine a “safe” location, on with upgrading centrifuges astatine the Fordow enrichment site.

Iran is present enriching uranium up to 60 percent, but maintains that it seeks nary subject exertion for its atomic programme.

The 2015 atomic woody with satellite powers that Trump unilaterally torpedoed successful 2018 allowed Iran to enrich up to 3.67 percent nether aggravated monitoring by the IAEA.