Israel strikes Iran: what we know.

Israel claimed on Friday that it had struck Iranian military and nuclear facilities and that it would continue its military campaign "to remove this threat." There were reports of explosions in Tehran, Iran's capital, as well as at a crucial uranium enrichment site, where the strikes were carried out. What we do know is this:

State television reported that the "Natanz enrichment facility has been hit several times," displaying footage of thick smoke billowing from the location. Iranian state media said residential buildings in Tehran were damaged and several civilians killed.

An Israeli security official said the strikes had “likely eliminated” Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Islamic republic’s armed forces, along with senior nuclear scientists.

Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, was reportedly killed, according to Iranian media.

Why it matters: The United States quickly distanced itself from the operation because Israel is directly attacking its largest and most powerful adversary. President Trump publicly opposed an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites on Thursday, saying he still believed a nuclear deal was possible.

Hours later, Israel began targeting nuclear sites as well as the Iranian military's top brass and senior scientists working on the nuclear program.

Trump stated to Fox News late on Thursday that the United States was aware of the strikes in advance but was not militarily involved and hoped Iran would come back to the table for negotiations. He stated that CENTCOM is on high alert for U.S. targets being the target of retaliation. The latest: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. commander Gen. Hossein Salami was among those killed, along with military chief of staff Gen. Iranian state media confirmed Mohammad Bagheri and at least one additional high-ranking general. State media also confirmed the deaths of two top nuclear scientists and another senior general, and showed images of smoke billowing from residential buildings.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei promised "a harsh punishment" for the attack.

Israel imposed a national state of emergency and Defense Minister Israel Katz told Israelis to expect drone and missile attacks from Iran "in the immediate future." On Friday, most workplaces and all schools will be closed. The big picture: The Israeli strikes have launched a new military conflict that poses grave danger to both Israel and Iran.

An official from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told reporters that the operation to eliminate Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities will take several days, and Israel anticipates that Iran will respond with missile and drone attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign would continue "as long as it takes."

The official from the IDF stated that Israel had evidence in recent weeks that Iran was pursuing a nuclear bomb and that Israel would lose more visibility into Iran's advancements with each passing day. "We are now in a strategic window of opportunity and close to a point of no return, and we had no choice but to take action," the official said.

Iran denies that it is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and the U.S. and other allies have made no such warning about Iran racing toward a bomb.

Behind the scenes: The U.S. notified several of its allies in private on Thursday that Israeli strikes were imminent and made clear it was not involved, a source familiar with those discussions said.

According to Axios, the Trump administration informed Israel that it would not participate in any strikes against the nuclear program. However, the U.S. has previously helped defend Israel from Iranian attacks and is likely to do so again.