US forces assisted in blocking Iranian missile attack on Israel, officials say

WASHINGTON: The U.S. military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two U.S. officials said on Friday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not provide further information, including whether fighter jets or warships carried out the defensive operation.

Earlier, explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as sirens sounded on Friday night across Israel following what the country’s military spokesman said was the firing of missiles from Iran.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said hundreds of ballistic missiles had been launched in retaliation for Israel’s biggest ever attacks on Iran, blasting Iran’s huge underground nuclear site at Natanz and wiping out its top military commanders.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

Israel said the strikes were the start of “Operation Rising Lion”. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having started the strikes and initiating a war.

U.S. President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme.

As evening fell on Friday, Iranian media reported explosions on the northern and southern outskirts of Tehran and at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom, a second nuclear site which had been spared in the first wave of attacks.

Air defences were activated across Tehran and explosions could be heard in Isfahan.

Israel’s military said it was striking Iranian missile and drone launching sites, and had struck another nuclear site in Isfahan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli campaign was aimed at defeating an existential threat from Iran, invoking the failure to halt the Holocaust in World War Two.

Israel’s operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” he said in a TV address. “Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.”

In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said it was not clear if Iran’s nuclear programme had survived. He said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place.

“We knew everything,” Trump said of the Israeli attack plans.

“I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out,” Trump said. “They can still work out a deal, however, it’s not too late.”