Iran, Israel trade strikes after US raids on Iranian nuclear sites

TEHRAN/JERUSALEM -- Iran conducted the 21st wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel on Monday morning, reported the state-run IRIB TV.

The country has used a combination of solid- and liquid-fuel missiles in the attack as well as special tactics to render Israel's air defense ineffective, the report said.

Earlier on Monday, Iran's army announced that it had launched tens of kamikaze drones equipped with warheads towards Israel.

Israel on Monday targeted areas in the northwestern and eastern parts of the Iranian capital Tehran and its nearby province of Alborz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Israeli attacks on northern Tehran damaged a feeder line, leading to electricity blackouts in certain areas of the capital, the report said, adding that military bases in Alborz province's capital Karaj and Tehran province's Rey County were targeted.

An Israeli military statement confirmed on Monday that about 10 Iranian missiles were fired in four separate volleys, setting off sirens from Israel's north to the southern border with the Gaza Strip and forcing millions of Israelis to remain in shelters for about an hour.

Most of the missiles were intercepted, but three struck Israeli territory with no injuries reported.

According to Israel's state-owned Kan TV, one missile hit Ashdod, a coastal city in southern Israel, while another fell in Yavneh, 15 km north of Ashdod, with the third in the northern area. Missile fragments also dropped on other sites, including a road in the Lakhish area of southern Israel, said a spokesperson for Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service.

The barrage included missiles with cluster warheads, which scattered and caused widespread damage, said a colonel of the Israeli army's Home Front Command.

The state-owned Israel Electric Corporation stated that a "strategic infrastructure facility" in the south was damaged by missile fire, causing power disruptions in several nearby communities.

Iran's military Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi on Monday accused the United States of acting as a "criminal," warning that Iran had given its armed forces free rein to take any action against US interests and troops, reported the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

"America has clearly and directly violated the sovereignty of Iran," openly entered a direct war with Iran, said Mousavi in a statement, who gave assurance that the Iranian armed forces would also punish Israel for its "aggression".

US President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States successfully struck three Iranian nuclear facilities at Esfahan, Fordow and Natanz.

As of Saturday, more than 400 Iranians have been killed and over 3,000 wounded, according to Iran's Health Ministry. In Israel, the death toll stands at 24, according to local authorities.