Dubai, Jun 13 (AP) Iran's UN ambassador said on Friday that 78 people have been killed and over 320 injured in Israeli attacks.

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Israel's "barbaric and criminal attack" and assassinations were against senior military officials and nuclear scientists. But he said "the overwhelming majority" of victims were civilians, women and children.

Also Read | Donald Trump Says Iran Has ‘Second Chance’ to Come to Nuclear Deal After Israeli Strikes Devastate Tehran.

He said Israel again on Friday is conducting "acts of aggression" targeting multiple civilian and military sites across several Iranian cities.

Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure on Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists -- a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.

Also Read | Iran-Israel Conflict: Iranian News Outlet Close to Government Says 2 Explosions Heard Near Fordo Nuclear Site.

Iran retaliated late on Friday by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below.

"We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message in which he vowed revenge.

An Associated Press reporter saw smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. A Tel Aviv-area hospital said it was treating 15 injured civilians. US ground-based air-defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.

Israel's ongoing airstrikes and intelligence operation and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about an all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)