Iran said on Friday (June 13) that its armed forces would respond to Israel's attack "without limits". Iran also called Israel's attack on its nuclear facilities and scientists a "declaration of war" and criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency for its "silence".
"Now that the terrorist regime occupying Jerusalem has crossed all red lines... there will be no limit to our response (to this crime)," the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff said in a statement, AFP reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi described the attack as a "declaration of war" in a letter to the United Nations on the same day and "called on the Security Council to immediately resolve this issue."
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a statement on Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency's "silence" on Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and scientists was "a form of cooperation with the Zionist regime."
The group said the Israeli attack was "a failure for the IAEA caused by its unjustifiable shortcomings".
Shortly thereafter, IAEA Director General Grossi issued a statement saying that nuclear facilities "must not be attacked."
An Israeli military official said all Israeli pilots who took part in Friday's (June 13) strike on Iran have returned home safely and the Israeli armed forces are continuing to assess the results of the operation.
Reuters reported that the unnamed official told foreign journalists that the Israeli Air Force launched attacks on multiple targets simultaneously, including Iranian ballistic missiles directed at Israel.
“We’ve accomplished a lot.”
He also said Israel was prepared for a long-term confrontation, which depended in part on Iran's response, adding that Iran had launched more than 100 drones at Israel, many of which had been intercepted.
Another Israeli security source told Reuters that Israeli Mossad commandos carried out a series of covert operations inside Iran before launching the attack on Friday.
Security sources said this included deploying precision-guided weapons in open areas near bases of Iranian surface-to-air missile systems, using advanced technology to attack Iran's air defense systems, and establishing bases for attack drones near Tehran.
