Israel carried out strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear and military sites, after US President Donald Trump warned of a possible “massive conflict” in the region.

Israel’s operation struck at the “heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme”, taking aim at the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The operation against Iran will “continue as many days as it takes,” Netanyahu said.

“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.

Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

Iranian state media said residential buildings in Tehran were also hit, killing a number of civilians, including women and children.

The strikes took place overnight, as unconfirmed images and footage began to appear on social media of Tehran’s skyline, with plumes of smoke seen rising to the sky in several locations, Iran’s state-run IRNA reported.

Images showed damaged residential buildings in several locations in the capital. Eyewitnesses and reporters from the state TV said they saw the bodies of women and children among the victims.

Fire and smoke were seen at a key site for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, state TV reported, while explosions were also heard in Natanz city in Iran’s central province.

Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami was assassinated in the attack, IRNA reported.

Israel’s attack on Iran hit a key uranium enrichment facility in the country’s centre multiple times, state TV reported.

The “Natanz enrichment facility has been hit several times,” state TV reported, showing footage of heavy smoke billowing from the site.

Iran’s oil ministry said key refineries and fuel depots were unaffected by the deadly attack, with operations continuing nationwide without disruption.

“No damage was caused to the country’s refining facilities and oil depots, and currently the activities of these facilities and fuel supply are ongoing in all parts of the country without interruption,” the ministry said in a statement.

Air traffic was halted at Tehran’s main international airport Imam Khomeini, while neighbouring Iraq has also closed its airspace and suspended all flights at all airports, state media reported.

Israel declared a state of emergency, likewise closing its airspace, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying retaliatory action from Tehran was possible following the operation.

“Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Katz said.

An Israeli military official added that the Israeli army believed that Iran had the ability to strike Israel “any minute”.

Several children had been killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, it said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement that Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive “a bitter fate for itself”.

An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets, including the facility at Natanz in central Iran.

US President Donald Trump would convene a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday morning, the White House said.

Iran’s armed forces spokesperson said Israel and its chief ally the United States would pay a “heavy price” for the attack, accusing Washington of providing support for the operation.

An Israeli official told Israel’s public broadcaster Kan that Israel had coordinated with Washington on the strikes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, said the United States was not involved and Tel Aviv had acted unilaterally for self-defence.

“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel,” he added.

The State Department issued an advisory saying that all US government employees in Israel and their family members should “shelter in place until further notice”.

The attacks triggered sharp falls in stock prices in early Asian trade on Friday, led by a selloff in US futures, while oil prices jumped as investors scurried to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.