U.S. aids Israel in intercepting Iran's retaliatory strikes

U.S. ground-based air defense systems are helping shoot down the Iranian missiles targeted at Israel, NPR reported citing a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Iranian retaliatory strikes come after Israel launched several waves of airstrikes into Iran early Friday, targeting the country's nuclear facilities and killing top military leaders, officials and nuclear scientists.

Speaking to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, Iran's U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused Israel of trying to "kill diplomacy" and called the country "the most dangerous and terrorist regime in the world." He urged the UNSC to hold Israel accountable, according to NPR. 

Iravani said 78 people were killed and over 320 people — mostly civilians — were injured. In Israel, at least 34 people were reported injured, according to Israel's emergency services Magen David Adom, NPR reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran "crossed red lines" by firing missiles at "civilian population concentrations," and warned it would would pay a "very heavy price," the Times of Israel reported.

In a video statement on Friday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on Iran was "in the works for months" since September, following Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, in Beirut. Netanyahu said he was concerned that once the region's "Iranian axis" was broken, Iran would accelerate its nuclear program. The attack on Iran was supposed to occur in April but it was postponed, Netanyahu added.