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Trump declares that it is not too late to reach a deal with Iran after Israel strikes Iran for the second night

Israel renewed its attacks on Iran on Friday evening, hours after it launched its largest ever attack on its long-standing enemy. The massive underground nuclear facility of Iran was destroyed and its top military leaders were all killed.

Israel claimed that the strikes were just the beginning of "Operation Rising Lion". Iran responded by saying "the gates to hell will open". Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that it wasn't too late for Tehran if they reached a nuclear deal to stop their bombing campaign.

Iranian media reported explosions as evening fell Friday. These were near Fordow, which is located close to the holy city Qom. This was a second nuclear site that had been spared during the initial wave of attacks. Israel's military claimed it had struck Iranian drone and missile launch sites.

Isfahan was rocked by explosions and air defences activated in Tehran.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, said that the Israeli campaign aimed to defeat an existential Iranian threat. He compared the Israeli campaign with the failure of the Holocaust during World War Two.

Israel's operation will continue "for as many days as necessary to eliminate this threat," he stated in a television address. "Generations will look back and remember that our generation stood firm, acted quickly, and secured our future."

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, said that Israel "unleashed" its "bloody and wicked" hand and would "suffer a bitter fate".

In a telephone interview, Trump stated that it was unclear if Iran's nuke programme had survived. He said that the scheduled nuclear talks between Tehran, Iran and the United States on Sunday were still on his agenda, though he wasn't sure whether they would happen.

Trump stated that he tried to prevent Iran from being humiliated and killed.

Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that "Iran has to make a deal before there's nothing left."

Tzachi Haengbi, Israel's National Security Advisor, said that military action alone would not destroy Iran’s nuclear program, but it could "create conditions for a longer-term deal led by the United States", to eliminate it.

DECAPITATION

Two sources in the region said that at least 20 Iranian military leaders were killed. This was a shocking decapitation, similar to Israeli attacks last year which quickly wiped out Lebanon's once feared Hezbollah Militia leadership. Iran said that six of its leading nuclear scientists were also killed.

The chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salaami, and the chief of the Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri were among the generals who died on Friday.

In a letter read on state TV, Major General Mohammad Pakpour vowed revenge in response to Salami's promotion to Guards commander. "The gates to hell will be opened for the regime that kills children."

Iranians have described an atmosphere filled with fear and anger. Some people were rushing to exchange money, while others sought a safe way out.

"People in my street ran out of their houses in panic. We were all terrified," Marziyeh said, 39, after a large blast woke her up in Natanz, which is home to an underground nuclear facility.

Some Iranians hoped that the attack would bring about a change in Iran's hardline, clerical leadership. Others vowed to support the authorities.

"I will die and fight for our right to have a nuclear program." Israel and America, its ally, cannot take away our right to a nuclear programme with these attacks," Ali said. Ali is a member in the Basij militia of Qom that supports the government.

Iranian media showed images and described the destruction of apartment blocks. Nearly 80 civilians died in an attack that killed nuclear scientists asleep in their beds, while more than 300 were injured.

The ability of Iran to respond with weapons fired by regional proxies was weakened over the last year with the fall of its ally Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, the decimation Hezbollah and Hamas and Gaza.

On Friday evening in Jerusalem, air raid sirens were heard. Israel reported that it had detected a missile launch from Yemen. The Houthi militia is one of the few remaining Iranian-aligned groups capable of shooting at Israel.

'COWARDLY'

Israel claimed that Iran launched 100 drones at Israeli territory on Friday. Iran denies this, and there are no reports of drones hitting Israeli targets.

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council would meet at Tehran's invitation. Iran wrote to the Council informing them that it would take decisive and proportionate action against Israel's "unlawful", "cowardly", and "unjustified" actions.

Fears of retaliatory attacks in a major oil producing region pushed the price of crude up, even though there was no evidence of damage to oil storage or production. OPEC stated that the escalation in price did not warrant any immediate changes to supply.

A source in Israeli security said Mossad commandos were operating deep within the Islamic Republic prior to the attack. The Israeli spy agency as well as the military also conducted a series covert operations against Iran’s strategic missile range.

Israel has also set up an attack drone base near Tehran. The military claimed to have destroyed "dozens of surface-to air missile launchers and radars" in Iran's air defences.

Israeli officials have said that it could be some time until the extent of the damage is known to the underground nuclear facility at Natanz, where Iran refined uranium up to levels Western countries say are more suitable for bombs than civilian uses.

Iran has insisted for years that its nuclear program is only for civil purposes. The U.N. Nuclear Watchdog concluded last week that Iran was in breach of its obligations under global non-proliferation.

Tehran was in negotiations with the Trump Administration on a new deal to curtail its nuclear program to replace a previous one Trump had abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the previous U.S. proposal.

(source: Reuters)