TEHERAN/JERUSALEM/HOUSTON – Nearly 100 missiles were launched from Iran toward central and northern Israel in two massive barrages, causing significant damage and injuring 41 people, according to Israeli officials.

The United States helped intercept Iranian missiles targeted at Israel, the Associated Press reported on Friday citing an anonymous US official. Both US Air Force fighter aircraft and destroyer-based missile defenses have intercepted missiles in previous attacks, said the report.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi called for maximum restraint after Israeli attacks on Iran, including on nuclear facilities.

Iran and Israel targeted each other early on Saturday.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency meanwhile reported that Iran's air defense has downed two Israeli Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets as well as a large number of micro aerial vehicles, capturing a female Israeli pilot.

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While the Iranian army has not officially confirmed the report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rejected it. In a statement, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee called the allegations "completely baseless".

On Friday, Israel launched airstrikes on Teheran and several other Iranian cities, killing at least 78 people and wounding 329 in the capital alone, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Among those reported killed in Teheran were top military officials, including the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Commander Gholam-Ali Rashid, and IRGC Aerospace Division Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation, warning that Israel must "await a harsh punishment" for what he called a "crime" against the country.

In a message to the Iranian people, while reacting to Israeli attacks on Friday night, he vowed on Friday that the Iranian armed forces will make Israel "miserable”.

Iranian retaliation

Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli military and the national emergency service, reported that two people were critically injured, two moderately, four lightly-moderately, while the remaining individuals suffered light injuries or trauma-related symptoms, including panic attacks, in the Iranian missile attacks.

Following the launches, air defense sirens were activated, sending millions of residents to protected rooms and shelters for more than an hour.

IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said that most missiles were intercepted by the air defense system or did not reach their target. The injuries reported occurred inside buildings, with several caused by shrapnel from intercepted missiles, he added.

Following the launches, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, "Iran crossed red lines when it dared to fire missiles at civilian population centers in Israel."

"We will continue to protect the citizens of Israel," he said, warning that the country would "ensure that Teheran pays a very heavy price for its criminal actions."

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In a separate statement, the IDF said it had attacked earlier on Friday Iranian Air Force bases in western Iran, destroying Tabriz Airbase, without providing further details.

The IDF attacked and destroyed dozens of Iranian air defense targets, drones, and surface-to-surface missile launchers, it added.

US help for Israel

The US has been moving assets nearer to Israel to assist in missile intercepts and provide better protection of US bases in the region, according to the AP news agency.

The US Navy has meanwhile directed destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, equipped to defend against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing toward the eastern Mediterranean, AP reported, adding that the second destroyer also has begun moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House.

No radiation leak from Natanz nuclear site

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Friday that no radiation leak "of concern" had occurred following Israel's airstrike on the Natanz nuclear facility in central Isfahan province.

Israeli attack had targeted the site repeatedly to inflict maximum damage, but caused only limited surface-level equipment losses and no casualties, he told state broadcaster IRIB.

"We had no radiation leak that could worry people, and there was no significant harm in this regard," Eslami said, adding that the authorities were continuing to assess the full extent of the damage.

Maximum restraint urged

Calling for maximum restraint after Israeli attacks on Iran, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Friday: “I reiterate that any military action that jeopardizes the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region and beyond.”

Nuclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, to prevent harm both to people and the environment, he said, adding that such attacks have profound implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as for regional and international peace and security.

Any armed attack on, or threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the UN Charter, international law and the IAEA Statute, Grossi said citing IAEA resolutions.

The IAEA stands ready to provide technical assistance, and remains committed to its nuclear safety, security and safeguards mandate in all circumstances, he added.