Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Iran early Friday, targeting critical nuclear facilities in Iran.

Tehran launched more than 100 drones at Israel on Friday morning, Israel's military said, not long after Israel announced it had begun a major operation against Iran, with a wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities,

Israel is believed to have carried out numerous highly secretive attacks on Iranian soil over the years, though it has rarely acknowledged them. Most have been aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, though Iran has also accused Israel of targeting its natural gas pipelines and of assassinating Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israel and Iran opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict when Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

The decision comes as officials say they believe that Israel is preparing to launch a military attack on Iran. Tehran condemned the vote.

Rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program have escalated amid diplomatic breakdowns, military preparations, and threats of conflict across the Middle East.

The US has ordered the evacuation of its embassy in Iraq as tensions rise in the region - with the Trump administration trying to reach a deal with Iran to curtail its nuclear programme.