Iran launches retaliatory strikes, hits Israel with waves of ballistic missiles 

Iran launches retaliatory strikes, hits Israel with waves of ballistic missiles

Iranian missiles have targeted sites across Israel, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, in retaliation for ongoing Israeli attacks on Iran.

Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded across Israel on Friday night.

Iran says Israel has killed at least 78 people, including women and children, and wounded more than 320 others, as the Israeli military continues to launch strikes on cities, military sites and nuclear facilities

Earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” following the “crime” of attacking Iran and killing several top-level military commanders and six nuclear scientists.

Tehran’s response to Israel’s attack will  not be ‘half measured’. He said.

“Israel’s strikes had “initiated a war” and it would not be allowed to do “hit and run” attacks without consequences.

On the other hand, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the military operation will continue as long as necessary.

Meanwhile, the United States has tried to distance itself from Israel’s onslaught while warning Iran against attacking American bases in the region.

Reports from Washington, DC, United States by Heidi Zhou-Castro had shown some kind of surprise at Trump’s sudden dramatic change from ‘negotiating to bombing Iran’ in matter of hours.

“We’ve really heard a flip in position as far as how Donald Trump has talked about these strikes.

“Just hours before these strikes were launched, if you remember, Trump was telling reporters how he did not want Israel to go in because it would “blow up” the nuclear talks that Iran was having with the US.

“Then, almost immediately after the strikes, Trump changed to say that, these strikes were, in his words, “excellent”.

“And then blamed Iran for those strikes, saying it was because the country did not accept the deal offered by the US to completely stop enriching uranium.

“He’s also warning on ‘Truth Social’ that further strikes will happen that will be more brutal, saying, this is time for Iran to come back to make a deal.

“So what we are seeing here is, Trump caught between two conflicting impulses that are really also embodied by the different sides of the Republican Party.

“We have those who want Trump to be the peace-making diplomatic president that he promised he would be during his inauguration speech.

“There is also the impulse from the war hawks for the US to be more involved in potentially bombing Iran directly, which Trump has also threatened to do.

“As far as which side he is on, it really appears to be whatever sounds more impressive to him at the moment.

Al Jazeera