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.

Israel launched a series of surprise attacks against Iran on Friday morning, hitting nuclear sites, missile facilities and air defenses and killing three top security officials.

Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor, talks with Jen Psaki about the awkwardness of the Trump administration trying to distance itself from Israel's attack on Iran, and what it means about Donald Trump's status that Israel's attack came while Trump was attempting to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran.

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

Iranian state television has confirmed that Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, was killed in Israel’s strikes Friday morning.

Global stock markets dived on Friday and oil prices surged after Israel conducted a military strike on Iran, rattling investors and sparking a shift towards safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.