Iran fires back at Israel after onslaught targets nuclear facilities

TEHRAN, JUNE 14 (AFP/APP/DNA):Iran struck Israel early Saturday with barrages of missiles after a massive onslaught targeted the Islamic republic’s nuclear and military facilities, and killed several top generals.

Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Israel overnight, with its military calling on residents to take refuge in bomb shelters Saturday morning.

The Israeli military said dozens of missiles — some intercepted — had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran.

Smoke was billowing above skyscrapers in downtown Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist reported, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had attacked dozens of targets in Israel.

Israel’s firefighting service said its teams were responding to the aftermath of Iranian missile strikes, including working to rescue people trapped in a high-rise building.

Rescuers said 34 people had been wounded in the Gush Dan area, including a woman who later died of her injuries, according to Israeli media reports.

Resident Chen Gabizon told AFP he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert notification.

“After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place,” he said.

In Iran’s capital Tehran early Saturday, fire and heavy smoke billowed from Mehrabad airport, an AFP journalist said, as local media reported a blast in the area.

Iran said earlier it had activated its air-defence system and explosions could be heard across the capital.

Dozens of people took to the streets of Tehran overnight to cheer their country’s military response, with some waving national flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN said Friday that 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Israel.

After a day of back-and-forth bombardments, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for the two nations to cease fire.

“Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” he wrote on X late Friday.

– Calls for dialogue –

US officials said they were helping Israel defend against the missile attacks, even as Washington insisted it had nothing to do with Israel’s strikes on Iran.

US President Donald Trump agreed on a call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that “dialogue and diplomacy” were needed to calm the crisis, Starmer’s office said.

Trump also spoke with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday, US officials said, without elaborating.

Iran’s missile salvo came hours after Israel said its widespread air raids had killed several top Iranian generals, including most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force.

It had launched several rounds of strikes that hit about 200 targets including nuclear facilities and air bases.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Israel “to ruin” during a televised address.

In Israel, Netanyahu issued a statement calling on the Iranian public to unite against their own government. But he also warned more attacks were coming.

“In the past 24 hours, we have taken out top military commanders, senior nuclear scientists, the Islamic regime’s most significant enrichment facility and a large portion of its ballistic missile arsenal,” Netanyahu said.

While stressing that it was not involved in the Israeli attacks, the United States warned Iran not to attack its personnel or interests.

Tehran nevertheless said Washington would be “responsible for consequences”.