TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 13 – Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes at Israel on Friday night, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country’s two biggest cities, following Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy.
Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv’s skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos.
The U.S. military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two U.S. officials said on Friday.
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.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran’s huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Israel’s military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having initiated a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful.
Israel’s operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address.
Netanyahu, who for decades has raised the alarm about Iran’s nuclear programme, said he authorised the air assault in an effort to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. Israel and its Western allies have said this is Tehran’s objective but Iran has denied it.
In a video issued by his office, Netanyahu appealed to the Iranian people to stand up against their leaders. “I am with you, the Israeli people are with you,” he said.
“Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.”
Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
U.S. President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme.
Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran had rejected the last U.S. offer.
REUTERS
