Iran retaliates by attacking Israel with over 100 drones after Khamenei's warning as Netanyahu launches Operation Rising Lion

Israel's military said Iran launched about 100 drones toward Israel on Friday (June 1`3) and that it was making an effort to shoot them down, following a wave of Israeli air strikes across the Islamic republic.

"Iran launched approximately 100 UAVs towards Israeli territory, which we are working to intercept,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told journalists. He added that Israel's strikes on Iran involved 200 fighter jets striking about 100 targets across Iran.

This comes after Iranian supreme leader Khamenei has vowed ‘harsh punishment’ for Israel after Friday's attack killed several Iranian top commanders and scientists.

"The Zionist regime at dawn today extended its vile and bloody hand to commit a crime in our dear country and revealed its evil nature more than ever by striking residential centers," Khamenei said in a statement to the Iranian people.

"The regime must expect harsh punishment. The powerful hand of the Islamic Republic's armed forces will not let it go, God willing," he added.

Khamenei confirmed that "several commanders and scientists were martyred" in the attacks, saying their successors would "immediately continue their duties."

"With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself and will certainly receive it," the Supreme Leader said.

Meanwhile, Iran said Israel's deadly attacks on Friday underscored its need to advance uranium enrichment and missile capabilities. "One should not speak to such a predatory regime except in the language of power," the Iranian government said in a statement. “The world now better understands Iran's insistence on the right to enrichment, nuclear technology, and missile power.”

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday also condemned a wave of Israeli strikes on Iran's military and nuclear facilities, warning they could "destabilise the region". "This aggression constitutes a dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilise the region," said the Iran-backed militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. "Today, Iran is paying the price for its steadfast stance in support of Palestine and its resistance," it added.