Israel on Friday conducted what it called a “preemptive strike” targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and senior military commanders, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the operation, dubbed Rising Lion, aimed to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” warning that it could continue for days.
Iran responded with counter-strikes, firing barrages of ballistic missiles at Israel as the Iron Dome aerial defense system scrambled to destroy Iranian missiles. The attacks came after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a speech, vowing to bring Israel “to ruin.”
The attacks have since intensified, and on early Sunday, Iranian ballistic missile strikes on Tel Aviv killed at least eight people and injured around 200, according to Israeli emergency services.
In the latest Iranian toll, last updated after Israel’s first wave of strikes, Iran’s ambassador to the UN said 78 people were killed and 320 others wounded.
US President Donald Trump said that Washington “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight,” warning Tehran against attacking US personnel.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump stressed, in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!” he added.
On Saturday, a sixth round of nuclear talks between Iran and Israel, scheduled for Sunday, was canceled.
