Photo: Jack Guez / AFP
- Tehran launches dozens of missiles early on Saturday
- Air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem
- Israel said some missiles intercepted
- Tehran's Mehrabad airport hit, Fars news agency reports
Iran and Israel targeted each other with missiles and airstrikes early on Saturday (local time) after Israel launched its biggest-ever air offensive against its longtime foe in a bid to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel's two largest cities, sending residents rushing into shelters as successive waves of Iranian missiles streaked across the skies. The military said its air defence systems were operating.
"In the last hour, dozens of missiles have been launched at the state of Israel from Iran, some of which were intercepted," the Israeli military said.
It said rescue teams were working at a number of locations across the country where fallen projectiles were reported, without commenting on casualties.
In Iran, several explosions were heard in the capital, Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The Fars news agency said two projectiles hit Tehran's Mehrabad airport, and Iranian media said flames were reported there.
Close to key Iranian leadership sites, the airport hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft.
Photo: -
Israeli media said a suspected missile came down in Tel Aviv, and a Reuters witness heard a loud boom in Jerusalem. It was unclear whether Iranian strikes or Israeli defensive measures were behind the activity.
The Fars news agency said Tehran launched waves of airstrikes on Saturday after two salvos on Friday night. One of the waves targeted Tel Aviv before dawn on Saturday, with explosions heard in the capital and Jerusalem, witnesses said.
Those were in response to Israel's attacks on Iran early on Friday against commanders, nuclear scientists, military targets and nuclear sites. Iran denies that its uranium enrichment activities are part of a secret weapons programme.
Fire and smoke rise from a building, reportedly hit by a missile fired from Iran, in central Tel Aviv on 13 June 2025. Photo: Jack Guez / AFP
In central Tel Aviv, a high-rise building was hit, damaging the lower third of the structure in a densely populated urban area. An apartment block in nearby Ramat Gan was destroyed.
Israel's ambulance service said 34 people were injured on Friday night in the Tel Aviv area, most with minor injuries. Police later said one person had died.
The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel on Friday, two US officials said. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles on Friday and that most were intercepted or fell short. Several buildings in and around Tel Aviv were hit.
Israeli first responders evacuate an injured resident from a site hit by a missile fired from Iran, in Ramat Gan on the outskirts of Tel Aviv on 13 June 2025. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen / AFP
The Israeli strikes on Iran throughout the day and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been decimated by Israel.
- Reuters
