Israel and Iran exchange missile attacks for a third day; nuclear sites hit, death tolls rise, airspace shut, U.S. warns Tehran against retaliation.

Israel's operation against Iran's nuclear program, military leadership and arsenal of missiles is nowhere near over, with Israel having planned out 14 days of operations, a senior Israeli official said.

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.

The two powers have been exchanging barrages since Israel attacked Iran and killed many of the country’s top military leaders and scientists.

That surprise strike hit the heart of the Iran's nuclear program, killing several nuclear scientists as well as high-ranking military leaders, according to Israeli officials.The U.S. did not provide any military assistance or have any involvement in Israel's Friday strike,

BEIRUT — Iran and Israel traded air raids and ballistic missile barrages overnight and into the evening Sunday, with neither side showing any inclination to back down from an escalating grudge match between the two longtime enemies.

After decades of tension, a shift in the conflict between the Jewish state and Islamic Republic to open warfare is now be a real possibility.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, claimed that Israel had set Iran’s nuclear program back significantly, but that the full operation could take “weeks.”

The Israeli military said on Friday it had “significantly damaged” Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and that the operation was “still in the beginning.”

Israel has called its military operation against Iran "Rising Lion", taking the name from a biblical verse that promises a victorious future for a powerful Israel.

Israel on Sunday issued evacuation warnings to Iranians living near weapons production facilities in Tehran as the two nations continued to exchange missile attacks that began on Friday. "The Israeli military will strike these sites and will continue to peel away the Iranian snake’s skin in Tehran and everywhere — targeting nuclear capabilities and weapons systems,