For Israel, the objective was to degrade Iran’s nuclear capabilities and demonstrate unequivocally that any threat to its existence would be met with overwhelming force. For Iran, retaliation served not only as a defence of national pride but also as a signal to regional allies and adversaries alike that it remains capable of responding to aggression.

Israel and Iran have opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict. Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

The official tells Reuters that over 150 targets in Iran have been attacked. Most drones and missiles that have been launched towards Israel have been intercepted, the official says. Iranian state media has reported that 60 people, including 20 children, have been killed in an Israeli strike on Friday on a residential building in Tehran.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was long considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel

Israel said on Monday that it had struck the command center of Iran’s Quds Force, a special military unit that coordinates support for Iranian allies in the Middle East and reports directly to the country’s supreme leader.