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Sirens blared throughout Tel Aviv and smoke billowed in the sky as people ran for shelter as Iran launched retaliatory strikes against  Israel on Friday night. The strikes are in response to a major Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites.

"The Iranian attack is ongoing. Dozens of additional missiles were launched toward Israel," Israel Defense Forces 

 that "all of Israel" is under threat by Iranian airstrikes. 

A U.S. official confirmed to NPR that U.S. ground-based air defense systems are helping shoot down the Iranian missiles targeted at Israel. The U.S. official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. 

The retaliatory strikes come after Israel launched several waves of airstrikes into Iran early Friday, targeting the country's nuclear facilities and killing top military leaders, officials and nuclear scientists. 

Speaking to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, Iran's U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused Israel of trying to "kill diplomacy" and called the country "the most dangerous and terrorist regime in the world." He urged the UNSC to hold Israel accountable. 

Iravani said 78 people were killed and over 320 people — mostly civilians — were injured. In Israel, at least 34 people were reported injured, according to Israel's emergency services Magen David Adom. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that children were among the Palestinians  injured by shrapnel near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran "crossed red lines" by firing missiles at "civilian population concentrations," and warned it would would pay a "very heavy price," the 

 on Friday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on Iran was "in the works for months" since September, following Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, in Beirut. 

Netanyahu said he was concerned that once the region's "Iranian axis" was broken, Iran would accelerate its nuclear program. The attack on Iran was supposed to occur in April but it was postponed, Netanyahu added.

Top Iranian military leaders, government officials and nuclear scientists killed

Israel's attack on Iran comes after the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Thursday 

 wasn't complying with nuclear non-proliferation agreements aimed at halting the spread of nuclear weapons. Iran reacted, saying it would create a new uranium enrichment facility. Iran says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.

The Israeli strikes killed three top Iranian military leaders and several other officials and nuclear scientists ahead of planned negotiations in Oman on Sunday aimed at addressing international concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Earlier on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel targeted Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz as part of its operation "Rising Lion."

"We are at a decisive moment in Israel's history," Netanyahu said in a recorded video message, adding that the operation would "roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's survival."

He said the operation would continue for "as many days as it takes to remove this threat."

The Israeli spy agency Mossad smuggled precision weapons and explosive drones into Iran ahead of Friday's attack, which were used to strike Iranian air defenses, according to Israeli security officials.

The top Iranian officials killed in Friday's attack include the military's chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, a major blow to Iran's military chain of command.

The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says the above ground pilot uranium enrichment plant at the Natanz site has been destroyed.. He told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that so far, there was no radiological impact there. But he was still in process of examining the strikes' impact on the Fordow and Isfahan sites. Grossi has offered to travel to Iran soon.

"All these developments are deeply concerning," he said. "Nuclear facilities must never be attacked regardless of circumstances."

Earlier on Friday, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin had said the military was working to intercept about 100 of Iranian drones heading toward Israel.

At the time, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had "prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate" and vowed a "harsh punishment."

Air raid sirens went off across Israel at around 3 a.m. local time Friday as a preemptive warning to Israelis to prepare for Tehran's response. Supermarkets were packed with people stocking up on water and other supplies. Schools were closed and major events, including the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, were canceled.

 its diplomatic missions around the world.

Jordan, Israel, Iran and Iraq closed their airspace to civilian traffic, while other countries diverted or canceled flights due to the risks potentially posed by missiles.

Air raid sirens sounded in Jordan with announcements from mosques advising Jordanians to seek shelter. The government of Jordan, which neighbors Israel, said it had intercepted several missiles and drones overflying the country Friday morning.

Trump urges Tehran to strike a deal ‘before it is too late’

On Friday, President Trump said on social media he has been urging Iran to reach a nuclear deal.

"Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to 'make a deal.' They should have done it!" he 

. "Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!"

, Trump warned Iran that "it will only get worse" and urged Tehran to "make a deal, before there is nothing left."

Trump said he was giving the nation "chance after chance to make a deal" on its nuclear program and said that the alternative "would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told."

Trump is slated to meet with his National Security Council on Friday in the Situation Room, according to his daily schedule, the White House said. 

Though the U.S. is involved in intercepting Iranian missiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier on Friday that the U.S. was "not involved" in the Israeli attack on Iran. 

"We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," Rubio said in a statement early Friday.

"Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel."

This comes after the State Department, on Wednesday, said it had ordered all non-essential personnel from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to evacuate over rising tensions with Iran. It also authorized the departure of military dependents at other sites across the Middle East due to heightened security concerns.

NPR's Tom Bowman and Michele Kelemen contributed reporting. 

Jane Arraf

Author

The Israeli Defense Forces said Iran launched retaliatory strikes following a major Israeli attack early Friday morning.

U.S. aids Israel in intercepting Iran's retaliatory strikes as conflict escalates

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