Tehran, Tel Aviv on high alert

Israel and Iran continued to target each other with missiles and airstrikes overnight and into Saturday morning local time, with air raid sirens sounding across Israel, including in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as citizens were urged to seek shelter.

Iran said on Saturday that strikes against Israel will continue, and threatened to expand the attacks to include United States bases in the coming days, Reuters reported, citing comments made by senior Iranian military officials to Iran’s Fars news agency.

Iran launched another barrage of missiles toward Israel early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said, while Iranian state media reported that air defenses in Tehran were being activated to intercept incoming strikes.

The IDF told Israeli citizens to seek protected shelter until further notice while its “Iron Dome” missile defense systems intercept the new threat, NBC News reported.

Meanwhile, an NBC crew in Tehran reported that drones, missiles and fighter jets could be heard across parts of the city as Iran deploys its air defenses.

The latest rocket launches come as Israel continues carrying out military operations against Iran following what it called a “preemptive strike” against that country’s nuclear program and other targets, while Tehran seeks retribution.

The U.S. military is helping to shoot down Iranian missiles and projectiles being launched at Israel, three American officials told NBC on Friday.

The Pentagon had recently moved military assets into the region ahead of Israel’s initial strike, another U.S. official told NBC.

The assets include U.S. Navy destroyers that were positioned off the coast of Israel to intercept aerial counterattacks from Iran, that official said. The U.S. also used ground-based interceptors, including THAAD and Patriot batteries, two U.S. officials told NBC.

Photos and videos from Tel Aviv showed Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting rockets over the city.

The U.S. has insisted that the American military was not involved in Israel’s “unilateral action.”

But U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that the U.S. was aware of Tel Aviv’s plan. And in a call with NBC, he seemed pleased with Israel’s performance, saying, “They had the finest equipment in the world, which is American equipment.” 

Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke earlier Friday, a U.S. official told NBC. He also spoke on the phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for about 20 minutes, a White House official told NBC.

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

“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 closed lower Friday, as Iran’s retaliatory strikes fueled fears of a broader regional conflict. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 700 points, or nearly 2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each dropped more than 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…