Israel's massive strikes on Iran, which it calls an existential threat, have hit nuclear and military facilities, killed top commanders and dozens of civilians, and sought to destroy the country's defence capabilities.

Iran called the Israeli air assault "a declaration of war" and fired dozens of missiles at Israel later Friday and Saturday.

Despite the Israeli strikes, the US president has urged Tehran to comply with Washington’s demands over its nuclear program “before it is too late”

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is alive and is being continuously briefed about the situation, a security source told Reuters, following an Israeli attack on Iran early on Friday.

Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s military strikes on Iran, calling them a blatant violation of international law and Iran’s sovereignty. Islamabad urged the United Nations and the global community to intervene and prevent further escalation in the region.

Oil prices soared more than 12 percent and stocks sank Friday after Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites and warned of more to come, stoking fears of a full-blown war.

Israel pounded Iran in a series of air raids on Friday, striking 100 targets including Tehran's nuclear and military sites, and killing the armed forces' chief of staff, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and top nuclear scientists.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran Friday, was a veteran officer close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei known for his tirades against Israel and its US ally.

Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.

The US has vetoed the UN Security Council's draft resolution calling for an "unconditional and permanent" ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the fatal shooting of two embassy staffers in Washington as a vile act of antisemitic violence, intensifying fears of growing hostility toward Israelis abroad amid mounting global tensions.

After an 11-week blockade on supplies entering Gaza, the Israeli military said a total of 98 aid trucks entered on Monday and Tuesday