Israel launched attacks against Iran overnight, targeting the heart of the Iranian nuclear program: explosions were reported in the capital Tehran and other areas of the country, including residential areas and "dozens of military targets" and "nuclear targets", as stated by Israel. "A targeted military operation to repel the Iranian threat to the very survival of Israel", according to Netanyahu. The leaders of the nuclear program were hit and some of the scientists who were developing it were killed. The United States would not be involved in the attack, a claim supported by Israel but which Iran has expressed opposition to.

Israel says it has used 200 fighter jets against Iranian nuclear and military sites: these are American-made F-35, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets and constitute 60 percent of Israel's combat aircraft.

In response to the attack, Iran deployed more than 100 drones against the enemy state, according to the Israel Defense Forces, saying that its armed forces will not "hesitate to defend Iran's sovereignty with all their might and in any way they deem appropriate". Israel immediately began intercepting Iranian drones in the airspace of Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. It later announced that it had shot them all down.