Iran retaliates with missile attacks on Israel

Iran and Israel exchanged air strikes early Saturday, with air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and several explosions heard in Tehran

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it launched ballistic missiles at Israel - and the IDF claimed some were intercepted - as the country's supreme leader vowed to "inflict heavy blows" in retaliation for Israel's strikes the previous day

Forty people are being treated in Israeli hospitals following the retaliatory strike, including two in critical condition

Iran's UN envoy said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in the Israeli strikes, while more than 320 were injured, most of them civilians

US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to make a deal on its nuclear programme, warning of "even more brutal" Israeli attacks

UN secretary general General Antonio Gutteres has called on Iran and Israel to stop the "escalation", adding "peace and diplomacy must prevail".Throughout the day on Friday, Israel carried out wave upon wave of strikes on nuclear facilities and missile bases in Iran.

The Natanz uranium enrichment site and the nuclear facility in Isfahan have been hit and top military leaders have been assassinated - as have nuclear scientists.

It's a major escalation in the long-running confrontation between the two countries, which erupted into direct conflict last year.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been championing such an attack for years, against a foe that he regards as not just an existential threat to Israel, but to the whole world.

In one of his statements during the day on Friday, Netanyahu called on the Iranian people to stand up and achieve their freedom.

In response, Iran has launched several salvos of drones and ballistic missiles against Israel - the first in the morning was intercepted.

But later in the evening - as sirens rang out - the sky boomed and lit up over Jerusalem and other regions as the volley of missiles intensified.

In Tel Aviv, there were great swathes of smoke and explosions as people took to shelters as they'd been instructed.

Iran has shown that - however weakened it may be in comparison to a year or two ago - it can still put up a fierce response to Israel's unprecedented attack.