Iran retaliates with missile attacks on Israel

Iran on Saturday retaliated with missile attacks on Israel a day after Tel Aviv struck what it claimed were Iranian nuclear targets and also on other sites with an aim of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The retaliatory attack also came amid Israel Defense Forces’ second wave of strikes in Iran, including on a nuclear plant in Isfahan.

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as Iranian missiles struck. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem, BBC reported. A high-rise building was hit in central Tel Aviv and an apartment block was destroyed in nearby Ramat Gan city, Reuters reported.

While the Israeli military confirmed the Iranian attack, the number of casualties was not immediately clear.

Amid the second wave of strikes by Israel, explosions were heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, including one at the Mehrabad airport, state-backed Mehr news agency reported.

The casualties in Iran were not immediately clear.

In a televised address to the nation broadcast amid the retaliation, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the country’s military was prepared to counterattack.

“Don’t think that they [Israel] hit and it’s over. No,” Khamenei said. “They started the work and started the war. We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.”

Khamenei had on Friday vowed to respond to the Israeli attack.

The Israeli Defense Forces on Friday hit sites in Tehran, Kermanshah and Tabriz, among...

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