KHAMENEI VOWS 'HARSH PUNISHMENT' AFTER ISRAELI STRIKES

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel after Friday's airstrikes killed several Iranian 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 said.

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.

The statement followed Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites in an operation called "Lion's Power."

Iranian state media reported that five civilians were also killed in the attacks. Officials have threatened an "imminent" response.