Dubai, June 13: 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 attack 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. 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 are helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. Israel Attacks Iran’s Nuclear and Missile Sites, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Warns of ‘Severe Punishment’ As Tehran Retaliates With Drone-Strike (Watch Videos).

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. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme.

Iranian Missile Hits Tel Aviv

But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack -- plus the reelection of US President Donald Trump -- created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran had been censured by the UN's atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran Officially Withdraws From Nuclear Talks With US Amid Tensions With Israel: Reports.

Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate deescalation from both sides. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday afternoon at Iran's request. In a letter to the council, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the killing of its officials and scientists "state terrorism" and affirmed his country's right to self-defence. Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It was not possible to independently confirm the officials' claims. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southest of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, too, and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan.

Israel military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was "significantly damaged" and that the operation was "still in the beginning". The first wave of strikes had given Israel "significant freedom of movement" in Iran's skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss details of the attack with the media.The official said Israel is prepared for an operation that could last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline.

Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed.

Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making. In a video statement sent to journalists on Friday, he said he ordered plans for the attack last November, soon after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, one of Iran's strongest proxies. Netanyahu said the attack was planned for April but was postponed. In its first response on Friday, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israel's military said it called up reservists and began stationing troops throughout the country as it braced for further retaliation from Iran or Iranian proxy groups. Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal with the US on its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks "will only get worse". "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire," he wrote.

(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)