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IRAN RETALIATED with a swarm of drone and missile attacks Friday after Israel launched surprise strikes that killed nearly two dozen senior Iranian officials, bringing the Middle East adversaries to the brink of war and upending President Trump’s push for a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Israeli officials said Friday Iran’s counterattack is “ongoing,” with the Islamic Republic firing dozens of ballistic missiles and explosions rocking Tel Aviv.

The U.S. is reportedly helping Israel shoot down Iranian missiles, while millions of Israelis have rushed into bomb shelters in targeted cities.

“We will take every measure necessary to protect the people of Israel,” Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs said Friday on X.

The U.S. has sought to distance itself from the Israeli surprise attacks, which wiped out top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and nuclear scientists, and destroyed several nuclear enrichment and ballistic missile sites.

Hours before the strike, Trump warned a unilateral move by Israel would jeopardize U.S. nuclear talks with Iran. Negotiators had planned to meet for the sixth round of talks in Oman on Saturday, but Iran has since pulled out.

Trump posted on social media that he’s still hopeful for a “diplomatic solution."

"Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,” he said.

“My entire administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a great country, but first they must completely give up hopes of obtaining a nuclear weapon!”

In an interview with CNN, Trump said some of the Iranian “hardliners” he’s been negotiating were killed in the strike.

"So what you're saying is Israel has now killed the people who you were dealing with?” CNN’s Dana Bash asked.

"They didn't die of the flu, they didn't die of COVID,” Trump responded.

Still, the U.S. has offered support for Jerusalem. And the administration is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East, The Associated Press reports.

The U.S. had begun moving assets out of the region before the Israeli strike.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that Israel acted alone.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” Rubio said. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the operation was to “damage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile factories and military capabilities.”

“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” he said. “We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said "that [Zionist] regime should anticipate a severe punishment."

“By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished," he posted on X.

The stock market dropped Friday and oil spiked on news of the conflict, which will be top of mind as Trump and other world leaders head to Alberta for the Group of Seven (G-7) meetings starting Sunday.

REPUBLICANS DIVIDED

Many Republicans were quick to signal their support for Israel, but there are growing signs the populist right is ready to break with the longtime U.S. ally.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a traditional Republican and staunch ally to Israel, said the U.S. should “go all-in” to help Israel if Iran refuses a nuclear deal.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley praised Israel for its strikes, saying “we owe them........

© The Hill