Iran fires missiles at Israel, U.S. helps shoot them down

The United States military is helping to shoot down Iranian missiles and projectiles being launched at Israel, three American officials told NBC News on Friday.

The U.S. took the defensive actions after Tehran targeted Israel in retaliation for Tel Aviv’s continued attacks on more than 200 targets in Iran, including nuclear sites, according to Israel Defense Forces.

The Pentagon had recently moved military assets into the region ahead of Israel’s preemptive strike, another U.S. official told NBC.

The assets include U.S. Navy destroyers that were positioned off the coast of Israel in order to intercept aerial counterattacks from Iran, that official said. The U.S. also used ground-based interceptors, including THAAD and Patriot batteries, two U.S. officials told NBC.

Photos and videos from Tel Aviv showed Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system intercepting rockets over the city.

The U.S. has insisted that the American military was not involved in Israel’s “unilateral action.”

But President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that the U.S. was aware of Tel Aviv’s plan. And in a call with NBC, he seemed pleased with Israel’s performance, saying, “They had the finest equipment in the world, which is American equipment.” 

Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke earlier Friday, a U.S. official told NBC.

Iran’s official state news agency said after launching its counterattacks, “The Hard Retaliation operation has begun.”

“Iran has launched a powerful and decisive response to the Zionist regime’s recent brutal attack,” the agency said. “Just moments ago, Iran began firing hundreds of ballistic missiles toward the occupied territories.”

Video showed missiles striking Tel Aviv.

Israeli defense systems are operating to intercept the missiles, according to IDF, which instructed the public to enter protected spaces and remain there until further notice.

U.S. stock markets closed lower Friday, as Iran’s retaliatory strikes fueled fears of a broader regional conflict. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 700 points, or nearly 2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each dropped more than 1%.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a statement, said, “The Zionist regime will not remain unscathed from the consequences of its crime.”

“The Iranian nation must be guaranteed that our response will not be half-measured,” Khamenei said.

Iran will not participate in the sixth round of nuclear negotiations with the United States scheduled for this weekend, Iranian state television reported earlier.

The talks were expected to take place on Sunday in Muscat, Oman.

“We are still hoping for talks,” a U.S. official said Friday morning, hours after Israel launched its Operation Rising Lion assault on Iran.

But the Times of Oman reported that the Oman News Agency and Iranian state television said the talks were suspended until further notice.

Israel said it had struck Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz, along with many other targets.

Israeli Army Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the attacks, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, in addition to targeting Iran’s nuclear program, are intended to degrade the nation’s long-range missile capabilities, NBC reported.

Defrin said Israel is aware of Iran’s intention to launch missiles and drones in retaliation.

Meanwhile, two Iranian news agencies reported that two explosions were heard near the nation’s Fordo nuclear enrichment site, according to NBC. That site is buried deep underground.

Air defense systems were activated in central Tehran.

Trump earlier Friday urged Tehran to reach a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left,” hours after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Iran.

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform.

He added that he warned Tehran that “the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it.”

Circumstances “will only get worse,” but further bloodshed could still be prevented, Trump said.

“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” he wrote.

The U.S. said it was briefed by Israel on the attacks, which were launched early Friday local time, but did not participate in them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency had said that as of Friday morning, Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site was not impacted, and “no increase in radiation levels has been observed at the Natanz site.”

The first wave of airstrikes killed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salam, Iranian state media reported.

Israel’s Defense Ministry said most of the top brass of the IRGC died in the attack. CNBC could not independently verify this report.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of the first Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal during his first term in the White House, and imposed wide-ranging and economically debilitating sanctions against Tehran.

But Trump has been steadfast in pursuing a new deal over Iran’s nuclear program since returning to the White House earlier this year.

However, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have yet to bear fruit.

Tehran has accused Washington of not respecting Iran’s right to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes.

— CNBC’s Natasha Turak contributed to this report.