Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) on the evening of June 13, at which it was decided to launch a retaliatory operation against Israel, the SNSC secretariat announced.
"The meeting of the Supreme National Security Council was held yesterday evening, one hour before the first stage of Iran's response to the Zionist enemy. The meeting was chaired by SNSC Chairman Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The meeting reviewed previous plans for a continuous response to any atrocities by the enemy and paid special attention to their implementation. "Internal preparations have also been made and necessary measures have been taken," the Tasnim news agency quoted the statement as saying.
Meanwhile, loud explosions were heard in Tabriz in northwestern Iran, Iranian TV channel Press reported. The city's oil refinery and airport were attacked.
The Israel Defense Forces are expanding the scale of their military operation against Iran's nuclear program, which is being carried out on the territory of the Islamic Republic, Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, announced.
"Dozens of key facilities are being hit, including ballistic missile launchers, military bases and strategic infrastructure, based on accurate intelligence information," Gendelman wrote on his Telegram channel.
He assured that the Jewish state "will not allow the regime that openly calls for our destruction to come close to creating weapons of mass destruction". According to him, "long-term intelligence work and data from recent months confirm" that Tehran "is conducting systematic activities aimed at the destruction of Israel". "We are acting decisively - in the name of our security and right to exist," the advisor to the Prime Minister's Office also said.