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

The sweeping attacks by Israel, which began early Friday, have killed more than 70 people, including four of Iran’s top security chiefs, and damaged Iran’s main nuclear site at Natanz. Iran retaliated by launching scores of missiles at Israel. At least three people have been killed and dozens more wounded during these attacks.

Israel's sweeping attack across Iran struck at the heart of Tehran's nuclear program, delivering a blow to the country's ability to enrich uranium and potentially setting its nuclear ambitions back by months or years.

As the head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, was one of the most powerful men in Iran, overseeing its most potent military arm and reporting directly to its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has gutted Iran's nuclear and military leadership with airstrikes that leave a weakened Tehran with few options to retaliate, including an all-out war that it is neither equipped for nor likely to win,

Iran has launched retaliatory missile strikes on Israel into Saturday morning after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear program and its armed forces, killing at least

Stocks are down on Friday, with oil prices surging in the wake of the Israel's military strike on Iran. The S&P 500 slid 48 points, or 0.5%, to 5,998 points in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 559 points,

Israel launched 200 warplanes on some of Iran's core nuclear and missile programs in what's been dubbed the "Rising Lion" operation. Tehran quickly retaliated by sending 100 drones into Israel, which the Israel Defense Forces said were mostly intercepted.