The official tells Reuters that over 150 targets in Iran have been attacked. Most drones and missiles that have been launched towards Israel have been intercepted, the official says. Iranian state media has reported that 60 people, including 20 children, have been killed in an Israeli strike on Friday on a residential building in Tehran.

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.

Araqchi said Tehran had been responding to foreign aggression, and that if this aggression stopped, Iranian reactions would also cease.