• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they carried out attacks against dozens of targets in Israel in retaliation for the latter's biggest attacks ever against Iran. Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded on Friday night across Israel following what the country's military spokesman said was the firing of missiles from Iran. Iran's state news agency IRNA said hundreds of ballistic missiles had been launched in retaliation for Israel's biggest-ever attacks on Iran, blasting Iran's huge underground nuclear site at Natanz and wiping out its top military commanders. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

 

Iran will pay the price: Israel

Israel said the strikes were the start of "Operation Rising Lion". Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having started the strikes and initiating a war. US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme. Later in a social media post, Israel said, "Make no mistake: Those who harm the people of Israel will pay the price".

As evening fell on Friday, Iranian media reported explosions on the northern and southern outskirts of Tehran and at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom, a second nuclear site which had been spared in the first wave of attacks. Air defences were activated across Tehran and explosions could be heard in Isfahan.

Israel's military said it was striking Iranian missile and drone launching sites, and had struck another nuclear site in Isfahan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli campaign was aimed at defeating an existential threat from Iran, invoking the failure to halt the Holocaust in World War Two.  Israel's operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat," he said in a TV address. "Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future."

ALSO READ: 'Will Show No Mercy': Iran's Supreme Leader Issues Stern Warning As Hundreds Of Missile Strikes On Israeli Residential Areas

In the Tel Aviv area, Israel's ambulance service said five people were treated for shrapnel injuries. Live footage of Tel Aviv showed what appeared to be a missile hitting an urban area. A critically injured woman was admitted to Beilinson Hospital in nearby Petah Tikva, a hospital spokesperson said. The unprecedented Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent Iranian retaliation raised concerns about a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel.

Israel-Iran war

Iranian media showed images of destroyed apartment blocks in Iran, and said nearly 80 civilians were killed in attacks that targeted nuclear scientists in their beds and wounded more than 300 people. Israel's military said it was striking Iranian missile and drone launching sites, and had struck another nuclear site in Isfahan. An Israeli military spokesperson denied Iranian media reports that an Israeli fighter jet was downed with a pilot detained. In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place. "We knew everything," Trump said of the Israeli attack plans.

(With inputs from agency)

Also In News