Iran launches ballistic missiles at Israel: ‘Hard Retaliation Operation has begun,’ Tehran says

Iran launched ballistic missiles toward Israel late Friday local time, according to both Tehran and Israel Defense Forces.

The missiles came in retaliation for Israel’s continued airstrikes against that country, which have hit more than 200 targets, according to the IDF.

“The Hard Retaliation operation has begun,” Iran’s official state news agency said.

“Iran has launched a powerful and decisive response to the Zionist regime’s recent brutal attack,” the agency said. “Just moments ago, Iran began firing hundreds of ballistic missiles toward the occupied territories.”

Video showed missiles striking Tel Aviv.

Israeli defense systems are operating to intercept the missiles, according to IDF, which instructed the public to enter protected spaces and remain there until further notice.

U.S. stock markets fell on news of the missile attacks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 860 points, or 2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each dropped around 1%.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a statement, said, “The Zionist regime will not remain unscathed from the consequences of its crime.”

“The Iranian nation must be guaranteed that our response will not be half-measured,” Khamenei said.

Iran will not participate in the sixth round of nuclear negotiations with the United States scheduled for this weekend, Iranian state television reported earlier.

The talks were expected to take place on Sunday in Muscat, Oman.

“We are still hoping for talks,” a U.S. official said Friday morning, hours after Israel launched its Operation Rising Lion assault on Iran.

But the Times of Oman reported that the Oman News Agency and Iranian state television said the talks were suspended until further notice.

Israel said it had struck Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz, along with many other targets.

Israeli Army Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the attacks, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, in addition to targeting Iran’s nuclear program, are intended to degrade the nation’s long-range missile capablities, NBC News reported.

Defrin said Israel is aware of Iran’s intention to launch missiles and drones in retaliation.

Meanwhile, two Iranian news agencies reported that two explosions were heard near the nation’s Fordo nuclear enrichment site, according to NBC News. That site is buried deep underground.

Air defense systems were activated in central Tehran.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier Friday urged Tehran to reach a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left,” hours after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Iran.

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform.

He added that he warned Tehran that “the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it.”

Circumstances “will only get worse,” but further bloodshed could still be prevented, Trump said.

“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” he wrote.

The U.S. said it was briefed by Israel on the attacks, which were launched early Friday local time, but did not participate in them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency had said that as of Friday morning, Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site was not impacted, and “no increase in radiation levels has been observed at the Natanz site.”

The first wave of airstrikes killed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salam, Iranian state media reported.

Israel’s Defense Ministry said most of the top brass of the IRGC died in the attack. CNBC could not independently verify this report.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of the first Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal during his first term in the White House, and imposed wide-ranging and economically debilitating sanctions against Tehran.

But Trump has been steadfast in pursuing a new deal over Iran’s nuclear program since returning to the White House earlier this year.

However, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have yet to bear fruit.

Tehran has accused Washington of not respecting Iran’s right to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes.

— CNBC’s Natasha Turak contributed to this report.