In a dramatic escalation, Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel on Friday evening, responding to an Israeli attack on its nuclear and military installations earlier that same day. Iranian officials declared this operation to be the “beginning” of a formidable retaliation.
The official Iranian news outlet, IRNA, reported the missile launches as part of a decisive action against what they labelled the “savage attack” by the Israeli forces.
Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson, Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin, confirmed that Iran had fired fewer than 100 missiles, resulting in over 50 injuries. This missile strike occurred shortly after Israel’s assault, which had killed three senior Iranian military officials and six nuclear scientists.
Among the casualties was General Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with Major General Mohammad Bagheri and former national security chief Ali Shamkhani. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, acknowledged the deaths and vowed “severe punishment” for Israel.
