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Israel launched unprecedented strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear program and military leaders.

The operation, “Rising Lion,” is aimed at stopping what Israel said was Tehran’s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons. Its targets included Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “the heart of Iran’s ballistic missiles program.” He said the operation would continue “for as many days as it takes” to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat.

Several of the most important men in Iran’s military and nuclear program were killed in Israel’s strikes. Among them were Iran’s highest-ranking military officer and the head of its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel will face “severe punishment” for the attacks, and Iran began retaliatory strikes on Israel on Friday. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.

Editor's note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.

Israeli soldiers search through the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, Israel, on Sunday.

Baz Ratner/AP

A wounded man looks at his shirt following Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday.

Amir Kholousi/WANA/Reuters

People take shelter at the side of a highway near Sha'ar HaGai, Israel, as sirens sound.

Jamal Awad/Reuters

Shops are closed in the Tehran Bazaar following the Israeli strikes.

Majid Asgaripour/WANA News Agency via Reuters

Motorists queue at a petrol station in Tehran after overnight Israeli missile strikes hit multiple fuel depots in the area.

Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images

Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it was struck by an Israeli missile in Tehran early Sunday.

Vahid Salemi/AP

A Jewish man prays as he takes shelter during sirens warning of incoming fire in Jerusalem on Saturday, June 14.

Maya Alleruzzo/AP

Rescue personnel work at an impact site after a missile attack from Iran in Rishon Lezion, Israel, on Saturday.

Ammar Awad/Reuters

A satellite image shows Iran's Natanz Nuclear Facility Saturday after it sustained heavy damage from Israeli strikes.

Maxar Technologies

Shattered windows and structural damage are seen in Rishon Lezion on Saturday.

Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

People embrace outside their damaged home in Rishon Lezion on Saturday.

Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

An explosion is seen during a retaliatory attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday, June 13.

Tomer Neuberg/AP

Police officers patrol the streets in Tel Aviv following an airstrike.

Ilia Yefimovich/Picture-Alliance/DPA/AP

Firefighters inspect the aftermath of a strike in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Ilia Yefimovich/Picture-Alliance/DPA/AP

Families shelter in bunkers in Ashkelon, Israel, on Friday.

Tsafrir Abayov/Anadolu/Getty Images

People inspect the aftermath of a strike in Ramat Gan, where several cars and buildings were destroyed.

Ilia Yefimovich/Picture-Alliance/DPA/AP

Israel's Iron Dome defense system is used to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv as Iran began retaliatory strikes on Friday night.

Leo Correa/AP

A police officer walks past a destroyed residential building after Israeli strikes in Tehran on Friday.

Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/AP

Damage is seen inside a building in Tehran on Friday.

SABA/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

Thousands gather in Tehran's Enqelab Square to protest Israel's attack.

Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images

Residential buildings are damaged in Tehran.

SABA/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

A patient is tended to inside the sheltered parking facility of the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. The country was bracing for Iran's retaliation.

Itai Ron/Reuters