Iran retaliates against Israel, raising fears of all-out war

Iran unleashes missile attack on Israel

Iran has launched an attack on Israel. Air raid sirens blare in Jerusalem as Israel reports incoming missiles from Iran. LiveNOW's Mike Pache provides real-time updates and live footage as the events unfold.

Iran retaliated late Friday against Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites, unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel and raising concerns about an all-out war between the countries. 

Explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. IRNA said the Iranian military had dubbed its operation "Severe Punishment," 

Iran launches missiles back at Israel

What we know:

In a second round of attacks, sirens and explosions, possibly from Israeli interceptors, could be heard booming in the sky over Jerusalem early Saturday. The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by the earlier wave of missiles, to head to shelter.

Israel’s paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an Associated Press journalist saw burned out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away.

U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.

Israel launches missile attack

The backstory:

Israel launched attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure earlier on Friday.

The ongoing military and intelligence operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.

Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran’s dispersed and hardened nuclear program.

Debris of missiles fired from Iran toward Israel leave trails in the night sky over Nablus in the occupied West bank after being intercepted on June 13, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What they're saying:

Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate deescalation from both sides. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday afternoon at Iran's request.

Dig deeper:

Among the key sites Israel attacked earlier on Friday was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby.

Israel said it struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, too — though Iran didn't immediately acknowledge it — and that it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.

Top Iranian missile commander killed

Iranian state TV reported that the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and one of Iran’s most important commanders, Gen. Hossein Salami and Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard missile program, was killed. The Associated Press reported that Israel said it killed two other senior officials as they huddled in an underground bunker.