HALABJA, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday vowed a “severe punishment” for Israel, after Tel Aviv carried out attacks across multiple sites in Iran.

"With this crime, the Zionist regime prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself and it will definitely receive it," read the statement from Khamenei.

Israel on early Friday announced it has carried out a “preemptive strike” against Iran, after multiple explosions were reported in the Iranian capital Tehran. The attacks targeted several parts of Iran, including the capital Tehran and the Natanz nuclear research facility in Isfahan.

Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in the Israeli strikes that shook Iran in the early hours of Friday.

Among the casualties are also Iranian nuclear scientist and former head of the countries atomic energy organization Fereydoon Abbasi, President of the Islamic Azad University Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters Gholam Ali Rashid, while Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, has been "seriously injured," as a result of the Israeli strikes.

“The Zionist regime opened its dirty and bloody hand to a crime in our beloved country this morning and revealed its evil nature by striking residential centers more than ever before,” said Khamenei, adding that “the regime must expect a severe punishment.”

The IRGC said that Israel will “pay a heavy price for this crime that was committed with the knowledge of the evil rulers of the White House and the terrorist regime of the United States."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that “Israel took unilateral action against Iran," denying Washington's involvement in the strikes.

The Iranian army meanwhile, warned that “the army of the Islamic Republic, along with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, will not tolerate the aggression,” threatening to “teach Netanyahu a bitter lesson," in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu hailed the campaign as “very successful,” in a video statement, saying “we carried out a very successful opening strike, and with God's help, we will achieve much more."