By Christian Edwards and Helen Regan

(CNN) — Iran launched multiple deadly waves of missiles and drones toward Israel into Saturday morning following Israel’s unprecedented strikes aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear program and decapitating its military leadership.

The skies above Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were lit up throughout the night by incoming missiles, interceptor rockets and explosions, with both sides reporting casualties while threatening that more was to come.

Israel’s military and intelligence operation against Iran early Friday was unprecedented in scale and scope, prompting Iran to vow a “crushing response” as the escalating conflict risks pulling the Middle East into a wider war.

Here’s what you need to know.

Israel and Iran trade missile attacks

Shortly before sunrise in Iran on Friday, Israel launched the first strikes of its operation against the regime’s nuclear program.

That operation, called “Rising Lion,” had two prongs: Heavy airstrikes against at least one of Iran’s enrichment sites, and more targeted strikes in Tehran to decapitate the regime’s military leadership. It aimed to halt what Israel said was Tehran’s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons.

At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said the Israeli strikes had killed at least 78 people and injured more than 320, mostly civilians.

Israel’s attack came after years of threats and days of heightened speculation – but without the United States’ blessing. The administration of US President Donald Trump stressed that Israel acted unilaterally and that Washington was “not involved.”

Iran hit back on Friday evening, launching what state media said were “hundreds” of ballistic missiles as part of a “crushing response.” Iran claimed that it struck Israeli military-industrial centers used for producing missiles and other military equipment.

But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran had “crossed red lines” by firing missiles at civilian population centers and vowed it would pay a “very heavy price.”

At least three people were killed in Israel and dozens injured by Iranian strikes, Israeli authorities said.

Overnight into Saturday, Israel and Iran continued to trade deadly missile attacks, unleashing destruction in both countries and forcing residents to flee to underground shelters. In Israel, emergency crews launched search and rescue efforts on Saturday, as people remained trapped under destroyed homes and buildings, while explosions were heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The Israeli Air Force said it carried out a new wave of strikes hitting defense arrays in Tehran overnight and the Israeli military said it struck two Iranian air force bases used for missile and drone operations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s operation would continue “for as many days as it takes” to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat. Tehran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful, says it has “no option but to respond.”

Where and when did Israel strike?

Iran has not seen such a widespread assault in a single day since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Israel targeted locations all across the capital city, Tehran, and around the country.

The first explosions tore through Tehran at around 3.30 a.m. Friday (8 p.m. ET Thursday). Videos geolocated by CNN showed flames and smoke billowing from buildings across the city.

Residents of Tehran were blindsided. Many did not expect Israel to strike so swiftly. “I didn’t know what was happening. It was really scary,” a 17-year-old Iranian told CNN, requesting anonymity due to safety concerns.

Shortly after explosions rocked Tehran, Israel struck elsewhere in the country. Israel’s military said it used jets to strike “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.”

An explosion was reported at Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Tehran.

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed that Natanz had been hit, but said it had not observed an increase in radiation levels in the area. Israel later claimed that it had hit a second nuclear facility in Isfahan.

On Saturday, flames erupted at Iran’s South Pars gas field – the world’s largest natural gas field – according to reports in Iranian state media.

Video footage circulating on social media and geolocated by CNN shows a large blaze and plumes of smoke rising from the gas field in Iran’s southern Bushehr province.

The oil field was hit by an Israeli drone strike, according to the Iranian state media reports.

What did Israel say?

Israel will “strike every target” of Iran’s regime, Netanyahu said in a video address on Saturday as his country and Iran continued to trade blows.

In the “very near future, you will see Israeli planes, the Israeli Air Force, our brave pilots, above the skies of Tehran,” Netanyahu said.

“We will strike every site and every target of the Ayatollah’s regime,” he warned.

Netanyahu had earlier said Israel would continue its operation for as long as it takes “to remove these threats.”

Netanyahu claimed that Iran had in recent years produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine nuclear weapons.

“Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year, it could be within a few months,” he said. “This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s survival.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also said it had destroyed Iran’s ballistic missile launch sites and stockpiles.

Addressing the Iranian people directly in a video released Friday night local time, Netanyahu warned “more is on the way,” urging civilians to “stand up and let your voices be heard.”

He said Israel’s fight is not against them but against the Iranian government.

Who did Israel kill?

Several of the most important men in Iran’s military and its nuclear program were killed in Israel’s strikes.

Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was the highest-profile of those killed.

Israel also said it killed Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; and Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s air force.

Nine scientists and experts involved in Iran’s nuclear program were also killed, Israel’s military said. This includes Ali Bakhouei Karimi, Mansour Asgari, and Saeed Barji — experts in mechanics, physics and materials engineers respectively, the IDF said.

How has the US responded?

The Trump administration – which has been pursuing a diplomatic path with Iran in recent weeks – sought to distance itself from Israel’s attack.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel’s actions were “unilateral.” Although Israel notified the US ahead of its strikes, Rubio said the US was “not involved” in the attack.

“Our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he added. Earlier this week, the US had made efforts to arrange the departure of non-essential personnel from various countries in the Middle East, leading to speculation that an Israeli attack on Iran could be imminent.

Nonetheless, the US helped Israel intercept Iranian missiles on Friday evening, two Israeli sources have told CNN. Other countries in the region also supported Israeli air defenses, one source said.

President Trump urged Iran to agree to a new nuclear deal “before there is nothing left,” suggesting that follow-up Israeli attacks on the country would be “even more brutal.”

Trump said he had given Iran “chance after chance” to make a deal. “JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

What happened to the last Iran nuclear deal?

Under a 2015 nuclear deal struck by former US President Barack Obama, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to drastically limit its number of centrifuges and cap uranium enrichment at levels far below those required to make weapons, in exchange for sanctions relief.

But during his first term as president in 2018, Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, saying the “rotten structure” of the agreement was not enough to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. He ramped up sanctions on Iran and threatened to sanction any country that helped the regime to obtain nuclear weapons.

In his second term, Trump has revived efforts to strike a new nuclear deal with Iran. Just hours before Israel’s strikes, the president cautioned Israel against launching an attack while US-Iran talks are ongoing.

“As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in because that would blow it. Might help it, actually, but also could blow it,” Trump said.

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