Israel-Iran strikes latest: Tehran retaliates with massive drone attack after Israel targets nuclear sites

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed German chancellor Friedrich Merz about Israel’s attack on Iran in a phone call on Friday morning, Mr Merz said in a statement.

The German statement said Israel has a right to defend itself and Iran should not develop nuclear weapons but Merz called on both sides to refrain from escalation.

It was not immediately clear whether Israel had given Germany a warning of the attack on Iran before it happened, as the Spiegel magazine reported on Friday.

Israeli foreign minister is holding a “marathon” of calls with his counterparts from around the world to explain the cabinet’s decision to strike Iran, the foreign ministry has said.

Gideon Saar told German foreign minister Johann Wadephul that “all other avenues had been exhausted”, the ministry said.

“The whole world saw and understood that the Iranians were not ready to stop and we had to stop them,” Mr Saar told Mr Wadephul.

He also held a call with Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani a short time ago, with whom he discussed the strikes on Iran and the Gaza issue.

Several Iranian political figures have vowed that Iran will carry out a significant response to Israel’s strikes last night.

“The time for revenge has come, and this revenge will be carried out by any means and means,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran.

General Ali Fadavi, deputy commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), said the “necessary preparations are being made for a decisive response to Israel”.

He added that the IRGC is on “full alert” and is “preparing for a harsh revenge”.

Reaction is pouring in from leaders around the world following this huge escalation between Iran and Israel.

Turkey has condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s air strikes, calling it a provocation that violates international law and risks further escalation in the region.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the attack showed Israel “does not want issues to be resolved through diplomatic means” and urged it to halt “aggressive actions that could lead to greater conflicts.”

Meanwhile, Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky said on Friday he had great deal of understanding for Israel taking action to deter the production of a nuclear bomb in the Middle East.

“So I have a great deal of understanding for…military action to deter the production of a nuclear bomb in the region,” Lipavsky told reporters on the sidelines of the Globsec Forum in Prague.

The Independent’s political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

A British minister has called for Iran and Israel to de-escalate tensions after Iran launched around 100 drones towards Israel.

Industry minister Sarah Jones said: “We want all, all parties to de-escalate, not escalate, not escalate the language that’s being used there.

“You can see how dangerous a moment this is, and this government will be doing what it can.”

She added: “We need to be calm at this point, work with our allies, do what we can to stop escalation, because we do not believe escalation is going to be helpful in the region or the wider, wider world.”

Britain will not protect Israel as Iran retaliates against overnight Israeli strikes, the defence editor of the Times newspaper said on X, without citing sources.

In October 2024, when Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, Britain said two of its fighter jets and an air-to-air refuelling tanker played a part in attempts to prevent further escalation, but that the jets did not engage any targets.

Britain was not involved in Israel’s strikes against Iran overnight and Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged both sides to use restraint and return to diplomacy.

Britain’s foreign office and Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any potential British involvement in protecting Israel.

German airline Lufthansa has suspended all flights to and from Tehran following widescale strikes by Israel against Iran.

“Lufthansa Group flights to and from Tehran will be suspended until further notice due to the current situation,” the company said in an emailed statement.

It added that it would also avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for now.

Israeli airline Israir is in the process of evacuating and relocating its aircraft from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, the company said in a statement.

They added that the move was part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days in response a potential retaliation by Iran to Israeli strikes.

Six Iranian nuclear scientists were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes, Iranian state media reported.

Israel has said the attack was carried out to curb Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.