Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on Iran and has declared an emergency as it braces for retaliation.
Its military said a “pre-emptive, precise, combined offensive based on high-quality intelligence” had been launched – called Operation Rising Lion.
“Dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran,” said a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel‘s very survival” and would last for “as many days as it takes to remove the threat”.
Iranian state media reported the head of the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, had been killed.
Mehr News said nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi was also dead, as was theoretical physicist Dr Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi and Major General Gholam Ali Rashid.
Read more: Israel attacks Iran and declares emergency over expected ‘missile and drone’ retaliation
