More than 200 Israeli jets were involved in air raids on at least 100 targets in Iran in five waves of strikes, including at the key Natanz nuclear site as well as at ballistic missile sites. Israel also killed at least six senior Iranian nuclear scientists and a number of senior Iranian officials, including its most senior military officer and the head of the Revolutionary Guards. About a dozen different sites appear to have been attacked, including in Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, and reportedly in Isfahan and Kermanshah.

The U.S. military helped defend Israel from Iranian-fired missiles Friday, a day after Tel Aviv launched a massive air attack on Iran’s military leadership and nuclear program. A U.S. defense official, who confirmed the news, did not say what American assets were used and how many interceptors were required.

The name Israel used for its military operation targeting Iran may have extraordinary meaning for the people of Iran, who have suffered under the tyrannical, despotic Islamic regime for 46 years. The Israelis named the mission “Operation Rising Lion,” derived from Numbers 23:24, in which the prophet Balaam — who was hired by King Balak of Moab to curse Israel, but was directed by God to bless Israel instead — declaimed of the Jewish people, “Behold! The people will arise like a lion cub and raise itself like a lion.”