Trump warns Iran of more brutal attacks if there is no nuclear deal

World leaders urge restraint as Tehran calls Israeli strikes a declaration of war

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JERUSALEM/TEHRAN - Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran on June 13, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and Iranian security chiefs, and that this was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear bomb.

"We are at a decisive moment in Israel's history," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.

"Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat."

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened Israel with "a harsh punishment".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a letter to the United Nations described Israel's attack as a "declaration of war" and "called on the (UN) Security Council to immediately address this issue".

The wide-ranging Israeli attack has prompted fears that long-simmering tensions between the heavily armed rivals were spiralling into a full-blown regional war.

US President Donald Trump weighed in, describing the Israeli strikes as "excellent" and calling Iran to "make a (nuclear) deal before nothing is left".

"We gave them a chance, and they didn't take it. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit, and there's more to come, a lot more," Mr Trump said in a recorded interview with an ABC News reporter.

In a post on Truth Social, he said that "the next already planned attacks" could be "even more brutal".

World leaders, meanwhile, called on both sides to de-escalate and exercise maximum restraint.

Mr Netanyahu had threatened an attack on Iran's nuclear programme for years, but the scale of the strikes overnight stunned Iranians and Israelis alike.