Meanwhile several sites across Israel sustained direct hits by Iranian missiles and Israeli leaders warned they would intensify attacks on "strategic targets" in Iran.
Iran's most fortified nuclear facility, called Fordo, is buried deep inside a mountain. Only the U.S. has the 30,000-pound bombs — often referred to as "bunker busters" — capable of reaching it.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with NPR in his official residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday, as President Trump was still weighing whether to intervene.
At least ten people were killed in Israel overnight, after multiple Iranian missiles evaded the country's advanced defense systems. Explosions rocked Tehran, but casualties weren't immediately clear.
Israel's attack on Iran sparked the biggest jump in crude oil prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Stocks fell sharply.
The Israeli strikes killed top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists ahead of planned weekend negotiations aimed at addressing international concerns over Iran's uranium enrichment program.
Israel launched an airstrike on Iran overnight. Blasts were heard in the capital Tehran around 3am local time. Israel's defense ministry warned it expects missile and drone retaliation.
Markets in Asia opened lower early Friday while oil prices surged after Israel attacked Iran's capital amid the ramping up tensions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
President Trump warned that a "massive" war could break out in the Middle East over Iran's nuclear program, after the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran wasn't complying with its nonproliferation duties.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors formally found that Iran isn't complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions.
