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Iranian leadership was caught unprepared by Israel's widespread military strikes Friday, despite having planned for potential attacks for more than a week, according to senior Iranian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to the New York Times.
The attacks, which hit at least 15 locations across Iran, including Isfahan, Tabriz, Tehran and other major cities, exposed significant gaps in Iran's air defense systems and intelligence capabilities. Officials said they had dismissed reports of an imminent Israeli strike as propaganda designed to pressure Iran in nuclear negotiations scheduled for Sunday in Oman.
The strikes proved devastating to Iran's military command structure. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace unit, and his senior staff were killed when Israel struck a military base in Tehran where they had gathered for an emergency war meeting, defying security protocols against congregating in one location.
Senior military commanders had remained in their homes rather than seeking shelter in safe houses the night of the attack, a decision officials described as fateful. The strikes also targeted nuclear scientists and destroyed the aboveground portion of a major nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz.
"Israel's attack completely caught the leadership by surprise, especially the killing of the top military figures and nuclear scientists," said Hamid Hosseini, a member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce energy committee who is close to the government. "It also exposed our lack of proper air defense and their ability to bombard our critical sites and military bases with no resistance."
Israel's operations destroyed much of Iran's defense capability, taking out radars and air defense systems while crippling access to ballistic missile arsenals. The attacks suggested an unprecedented level of Israeli infiltration into Iran's security apparatus, involving fighter jets and covert operatives who had smuggled missile parts and drones into the country.
In private text messages shared with The New York Times, Iranian officials expressed anger and bewilderment, asking, "Where is our air defense?" and "How can Israel come and attack anything it wants, kill our top commanders, and we are incapable of stopping it?"
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was moved to an undisclosed safe location, declared that Israel had started a war with its attacks. "They should not think they attacked and it is over," Khamenei said in a televised speech. "No, they started it. They started the war. We will not allow them to escape from this crime unharmed."
Iran's Supreme National Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss response options, with divisions emerging over timing and strategy. Officials debated whether Iran could sustain a prolonged conflict given the extensive damage to its defense and missile capabilities.
Initially planning to launch up to 1,000 ballistic missiles to overwhelm Israeli air defenses, Iran could only deploy about 100 missiles due to damage inflicted on its missile bases. The retaliatory strikes hit at least seven sites around Tel Aviv, killing one person and injuring at least 20 while damaging residential buildings.
Tehran residents spent Friday waiting in gas station lines and stocking up on essentials at grocery stores. Many families gathered in parks late into the night, fearing to remain indoors after Israeli strikes hit residential buildings targeting officials and military personnel.
Mehrdad, a 35-year-old Tehran resident who declined to give his full name, shared a video of his destroyed kitchen after an Israeli missile struck the adjacent high-rise in his upscale northern Tehran neighborhood. "I had been lucky to have been in the bedroom when the attack occurred, but some civilians in the neighborhood, including children, had been injured," he said.
As Israel resumed attacks early Saturday, residents reported hearing drones overhead and continuous explosions followed by air defense fire across eastern and central Tehran.
"We are in the middle of a war, this much is clear to all of us, and we don't know where it will go or how it will end," said Mahsa, a 42-year-old computer engineer in Tehran who also requested anonymity for safety reasons.
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