CNN: Iran launches counterstrikes at Israel in retaliation to attack

A projectile hits buildings as the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday.
Leo Correa/AP

The Middle East is in focus again after Israel launched a historic attack on Iran, killing three of its most powerful men and striking locations key to its nuclear program — and Iran said it has responded with “hundreds” of ballistic missiles, CNN informs.

• Iran and Israel exchange strikes: Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel, according to state media, in response to Israel’s unprecedented strikes. Iran has since activated its air defenses to intercept another round of Israeli fire, state media said early Saturday.
• Major blows to Tehran: Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear program and military leaders with its first wave of strikes. High-ranking military figures, including the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and nuclear scientists were killed in the attack.
• What Netanyahu says: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that “more is on the way,” after previously saying Israel’s operation against Iran could take several days.
• US role: The US military is helping to intercept Iranian missiles and drones as they are launched against Israel, a US official said. President Donald Trump told CNN that the US “of course” supports Israel in its actions. Trump warned Iran to agree to a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left.”
• Iran’s retaliatory strikes: Iran carried out attacks on “dozens of targets, military centers and air bases,” belonging to Israel, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And according to a senior Iranian official, Israel is “facing a dark night ahead.”
• Israel’s threats: Addressing the Iranian people directly in a video released Friday night local time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “more is on the way,” urging civilians to “stand up and let your voices be heard.” He said Israel’s fight is not against them but against the Iranian government. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran “crossed red lines” by firing missiles at civilian population centers, vowing it would pay a “very heavy price” for its actions.
• Israeli strikes in Iran: The Natanz nuclear site was struck in a missile attack, Iranian state television and state-affiliated media said. The outskirts of the cities of Tabriz and Shiraz were also targeted in what state media called “an aggressive attack.”
• The US’ role: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel coordinated with the United States “in advance” of the attack on Iran, and the Trump administration “knew about the strike.” The US military is helping to intercept Iranian missiles and drones, a US official told CNN.
• What Trump is saying: US President Donald Trump spoke earlier today with Netanyahu, a White House official said. Trump told CNN that the US supports Israel and called the strikes on Iran last night “a very successful attack.” Trump suggested to Axios that Israel’s strikes on Iran could help his efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran.
• Nuclear talks: Trump set a 60-day deadline for Iran deal negotiations to succeed in a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this year. The clock began running when the first round of Iran deal talks between the US and Iran began on April 12, and the 60-day mark passed Thursday. Israel is committed to guaranteeing that there is no nuclear weapons program left in Iran, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, told CNN. Trump told Reuters that US talks with Iran are still planned for Sunday, although he isn’t sure they’ll happen.
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted Israeli military centers and air bases in missile strikes.

“Using a combination of precision-guided and smart systems,” Iran “targeted military centers and airbases that served as the source of the criminal aggression against our country,” the IRGC said in a statement.

Iran claimed it struck Israeli military-industrial centers used for producing missiles and other military equipment, adding that “field reports, satellite imagery and intercepted intelligence indicate that dozens of ballistic missiles effectively hit strategic targets.”

“Despite claims of interception, the enemy failed to counter the waves of missile strikes launched by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement claimed.

“This operation was executed in a powerful and offensive manner, in full coordination with all branches of Iran’s Armed Forces and institutions. Its central message is that the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the red line of the Armed Forces,” it added.

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