By Crispian Balmer, Parisa Hafezi and Steve Holland JERUSALEM/DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel launched widescale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders and that this was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

As the head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, was one of the most powerful men in Iran, overseeing its most potent military arm and reporting directly to its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, was the most senior leader among the dead, according to Iranian state media.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -On the campaign trail, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to end the world's hottest conflicts and usher in global peace, but nearly five months in, with Israel attacking Iran and bloodshed in Gaza and Ukraine unabated, those hopes are in shambles.

Iran once ridiculed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the boy who cried wolf for his constant public warnings about Tehran's nuclear programme, and his repeated threats to shut it down, one way or another.

Explosions reported in capital Tehran as Israeli Defence Minister announces "pre-emptive strikes" and announces state of emergency

Good morning. Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities. Oil surges and stocks slide. And read an account of the lone survivor of yesterday’s India jet crash. Listen to the day’s top stories.

By Bharath Rajeswaran (Reuters) -Indian shares declined on Friday, led by oil and gas stocks, as Israel's military strikes on Iran deepened tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and triggered a broad-based selloff across markets.