MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
If you took your eye off the Middle East these last 24 hours or so, you have missed a lot. To catch you up quickly, Iran has launched at least 100 missiles at Israel. This after Israel launched a massive attack on Iran, striking nuclear sites, killing the country's top military commanders, also nuclear scientists and, according to Iran, dozens of Iranian civilians. Well, tonight, loud explosions sent people in Israel running for their shelters. Among them, NPR's own Hadeel Al-Shalchi, who s us now from a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv. Hey, there.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Hello.
KELLY: Hi. And we also have NPR's national security correspondent Greg Myre, not in a bomb shelter, in Washington. Hey, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Hey. OK, so Hadeel, you start. You are in Tel Aviv. You're in a bunker. First question, are you OK? What are you hearing? What does it actually sound like there tonight?
AL-SHALCHI: Yeah, thank you. I'm doing OK. So we started actually getting these alerts from the Israeli military to stay near a shelter, you know, on our phones. Then the sirens came, and then we started hearing these massive explosions across the city. So we made a run for the shelter, which is - like you said, I'm speaking to you from there now.
The Israeli military said that the booms we're hearing were interceptions by Israel's powerful air defense system, also known as the Iron Dome. But the military also confirmed that some areas in central Tel Aviv were struck, including a high-rise building that caught fire. And also it said that people have been injured from shrapnel. As I speak, I'm hearing more sirens, more booms outside, and friends have actually sent me videos showing red fireballs lighting up the sky. This is, of course, all happening as Israel is pushing ahead with its own attack.
The military said it struck the central city of Isfahan, which has a nuclear fuel plant, and explosions were also heard from around a nuclear facility called Fordow, which is underground. Earlier in the day, Iran said that Israel had struck its main nuclear facility called Natanz, and the attacks have delivered some major blows. Three top security officials, including the Iranian army's chief of staff, were killed and many nuclear scientists, according to the Iranian military.
KELLY: Well, and I will just note, Greg Myre, I have stood beside you in Tel Aviv when the Iron Dome went up, and you could hear it shooting down missiles - unusual for the strikes to have made and to see actually injuries tonight in the country. Let me turn you to the U.S. role. What, if anything, is the U.S. role in events unfolding right now?
MYRE: Well, we don't know everything, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio put out a clear statement shortly after the Israeli attacks began to say the U.S. was not involved and that Iran should not go after U.S. targets. Now, the U.S. did get a heads-up from Israel, and we kind of saw this in real time the past couple days as the U.S. took precautions with personnel in the region, diplomats and troops.
But it's not clear that the U.S. gave Israel a green light. Trump has consistently opposed Israeli military action against Iran, saying he wanted a negotiated deal to place strict limits on Iran's nuclear program. Trump was calling for a deal as recently as yesterday. But today, he was asked by Axios whether the Israeli strike undermined the talks, and Trump said, quote, "I don't think so, maybe the opposite. Maybe now they will negotiate seriously." However, we should note, Iran says it won't take part in negotiations that were planned for Sunday.
KELLY: Hadeel, back to you in Tel Aviv, and I want to ask about the specifics of this Israeli attack on Iran because there are some similarities - is that right? - some parallels between an earlier attack, when Israel killed the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in a bombing raid. That was Beirut last fall.
AL-SHALCHI: That's right. So there are some parallels, like you said, between the Israeli attacks on Lebanon that led to Nasrallah's killing and the ones we're seeing today in Iran. Last fall, Israel carried out an attack using pagers, which were used by Hezbollah , that blew up because Israel had concealed explosives in them. And today, Israeli security officials said that Israel's spy agency, known as the Mossad, smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of the attack. They said that a base for launching explosive drones was established inside Iran and that the drones were activated to target missile launchers at another base near Tehran.
Now, see, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been dreaming of taking out Iran's nuclear facilities for almost 30 years. In fact, in a video speech today, he referred to a book he wrote in 1982, where he said that the current Iranian regime was a threat to Israel.
KELLY: And Hadeel, one more to you in of the Iranian response. They had said, expect vengeance. They seem to be following through. What are you watching for?
AL-SHALCHI: Absolutely. I mean, it certainly - Iran is certainly pushing back right now. Iran attacked Israel twice last year, but they didn't do very much damage. But this time, Israel is saying this operation could last many days, even weeks. The chances that this really slips out of control is growing by the minute. Israel had warned that Iran would use its ballistic missiles again. Israel's also closed all of its embassies worldwide and warned its nationals overseas to keep a low profile, so it obviously fears attacks on them, too.
KELLY: And Greg Myre, last question to you. This is obviously a very aggressive Israeli operation that we are seeing, continuing to unfold against Iran's nuclear program. What is the goal? Is it just, let's slow down or destroy Iran's nuclear program? Or is it something bigger - an attempt, perhaps, to provoke regime change?
MYRE: Well, I think certainly the primary goal is to inflict as much damage as Israel can on Iran's nuclear program. When I was based there in the early 2000s, Israel was often talking about this goal. In addition, Israel would welcome any weakening of Iran's Islamic leadership and would be thrilled if it was ousted, but that's not something Israel could expect to bring about with airstrikes alone. In the short term, Iranians are quite likely to rally around the flag in response to these Israeli attacks.
Also, Iran's government has proved extremely resilient for 46 years and remains in firm control. These sustained Israeli attacks could unleash all sorts of unintended consequences, including putting more pressure on the Iranian government. But at this stage, there's no reason to think it will generate an internal uprising that would threaten the government.
KELLY: NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre here in Washington. We've also been speaking with NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv. Stay safe. Thank you, you two.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome.
MYRE: Sure thing, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
