By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/TEHRAN (Worthy News) – The Israeli navy on Friday said it shot down three Iranian attack drones over the Red Sea on their way toward Israel, after more than 100 drones were launched from the Islamic Republic. The same model, Saar 6, carried out attacks against the Yemeni Houthis earlier this week, Israeli sources said.
Earlier Friday, Tehran launched more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory following Israel’s overnight missile strike on the country, in which Iranian sites were hit and top officials killed.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Friday that it not only struck Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility early on Friday morning, “but even destroyed multiple floors of its underground facility, including the main hall containing its largest amount of centrifuges for enriching uranium.”
Additionally, the military reportedly conducted a second round of airstrikes against the nuclear facility on Friday afternoon.
The IDF said Natanz is the largest uranium enrichment facility in Iran, adding that it is one of the few sites with capabilities to enrich to higher, weaponized levels of uranium, as opposed to some sites which can only enrich to lower levels.
Natanz has been “operating for years to achieve nuclear weapons and contains the necessary infrastructure for military-grade enrichment,” the military claimed.
In response, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel on Friday it faced a “bitter and painful” fate in response to the attack launched overnight against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
ISRAEL ALERTS CITIZENS
His comments came after Israel alerted its citizens on Friday morning that Iran had launched more than 100 drones, which would take several hours to arrive, telling people nationwide to remain near bomb shelters.
Three hours later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Home Front Command lifted its instruction to Israelis to remain near shelters without a single siren sounding in the country, after it worked to shoot them down outside Israeli territory, Israeli media reported.
The IDF said late Friday morning that it had “control over the situation,” though it did not yet confirm shooting all of the drones down. Restrictions remained in effect for schools and workplaces in addition to public gatherings or events.
However, Khamenei said Israel “opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centers.”
Iran’s drone strikes came after Israel launched a deadly wave of attacks that authorities said killed the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and top nuclear scientists.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself up for a bitter and painful fate, and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said in a statement carried by state media.
As tensions rose, Iranian vessels were not docking at Iran’s ports with “158 vessels recorded at anchor or low speed,” due to fears that the ports could be struck by the Israeli Air Force, according to Israeli artificial intelligence company Windward’s chief executive, Ami Daniel.
INTERNET RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED
At the same time, Iran’s Communications Ministry imposed “temporary restrictions” on internet access across the country following Israel’s airstrikes as part of Operation Rising Lion on Friday, Iranian state media IRNA confirmed.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Brigadier-General Effie Defrin suggested Friday he wasn’t surprised about Iran’s apparent anxiety as the military “has significantly damaged” Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.
He cautioned that Israel must prepare for a lengthy operation and that the attack plan is “gradual.”
The spokesman did not rule out that Israel would hit Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), an underground uranium enrichment facility located 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the Iranian city of Qom.
He said he “would not reveal in advance whether and when Israel might strike Fordow.”
U.S. President Donald J. Trump already warned Iran on Friday that “even more brutal force” can be expected unless it makes a nuclear deal preventing it from developing atomic weapons.
Israeli and U.S. officials fear Tehran is days away from producing a nuclear arsenal that Israel says threatens its existence and the world.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Tens of thousands of Hungarians carrying toys and torches rallied in Budapest, demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over child abuse scandals at state-run youth detention centers.
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that a targeted airstrike in Gaza City killed senior Hamas commander Raad Saad, one of the terror group’s most influential remaining military leaders, in what Israeli officials described as a direct response to repeated ceasefire violations by Hamas.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a sweeping executive order aimed at preventing states from regulating artificial intelligence, asserting that a fragmented regulatory landscape threatens U.S. innovation and global competitiveness—particularly against China.
A federal appeals court delivered a major victory to the Trump administration and the pro-life movement on Friday, ruling that Planned Parenthood is unlikely to succeed in its legal challenge against a key provision of President Donald Trump’s signature domestic-policy law that cuts off federal Medicaid funding to abortion providers.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 8 declined to hear the case of a California Christian baker who was prosecuted for refusing, on religious grounds, to create a custom wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. The unsigned order in Miller v. Civil Rights Department came without comment or recorded dissent, leaving in place a California ruling against the baker.
Australian authorities said at least 12 people, including one suspected gunman, were killed and dozens wounded in a shooting attack linked to a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, an incident condemned by leaders in Australia, Britain, and Israel as antisemitic terrorism.
Students, staff and anxious parents faced an uncertain Sunday and several leaders urged prayers after a shooter killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University in the U.S. state of Rhode Island.