Iranian state television confirmed the head of the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, was killed in an Israeli strike early on Friday.

An anchor read a statement saying: “The news of the assassination and martyrdom of Gen. Hossein Salami was confirmed.”

The Guard is a major power center within Iran’s theocracy, with vast business interests and oversees the nation’s ballistic missile arsenal.

Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday, in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and raised the potential for a larger war between the two bitter adversaries.

An Israeli military official said that the Israeli Air Force targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, without identifying them.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency is quoting an anonymous official saying Iran will offer a “decisive” response to Israel’s attack.

The report did not elaborate. However, Iranian state television put a black band over the corner of its broadcast, suggesting the attack had been significant enough to spark public mourning.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said Israel launched Operation “Rising Lion” against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure with the aim of eliminating an existential and immediate threat to the citizens of Israel and the entire world.

The Iranian regime is blatantly violating international agreements, advancing towards nuclear weapons, and operating a regional terror network, he said.

Speaking to the UN Secretary-General and members of the Security Council, Danon said: “This is a moment to make moral decisions. Stand by Israel -- or you will be partners in a dangerous silence.”

Australia and New Zealand were mong the first countries to condemn Israeli strikes.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “alarmed by the escalation” between Israel and Iran, which she said risked further destabilizing an already volatile region.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the strikes were “a huge concern” for his government and “potentially catastrophic” for the Middle East. “The risk of miscalculation is high,” he said.