Iran launched more than 100 drones at Israel following a series of powerful explosions that shook Tehran late on June 12, IDF Spokesman Effie Defrin confirmed at a press conference as seen by bne IntelliNews.

The drone attacks came in response to what Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed was a "pre-emptive strike" conducted by Israeli forces against Iranian targets, resulting in the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief, Major General Hossein Salami.

"Our pilots attacked and are still attacking in Iran, thousands of kilometres from Israel. Tonight, 200 fighter jets went on the attack, bombing more than 100 targets throughout Iran," IDF spokesman Efi Dufferin announced in a statement confirmed by Israel's Channel 12.

Dufferin outlined three primary justifications for the timing of Israel's operation: intelligence indicating Iranian nuclear scientists had "begun experiments to advance all the parts required for nuclear weapons," the accumulation of precision missiles constituting an "existential threat," and continued Iranian funding of regional proxy groups.

The Israel Defence Forces confirmed the nature of their strike on Iran in a statement on their official Telegram account.

"A short while ago, following the directive of the political echelon, the IDF launched a preemptive, precise, combined offensive based on high-quality intelligence to strike Iran's nuclear program, and in response to the Iranian regime's ongoing aggression against Israel," the statement read.

In a follow-up Telegram post, the IDF uploaded a public statement from the IDF Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir. "We have begun this operation because the time has come; we are at the point of no return. We cannot afford to wait for another time to operate; we have no other choice. Recent and past events of history have taught us that when the enemy is attempting to destroy us, we must not turn a blind eye. We need to fight for our existence; freedom was given to those willing to fight for it."

The strikes appear to have been conducted with US approval. A White House statement reported by Channel 14 confirmed: "Israel has informed us that it believes this action was necessary for its own self-defence. President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners."