TEHRAN - Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has reacted strongly to Israel’s Friday morning strikes on Iran which led to the death of a number of civilians, senior military commanders and two nuclear scientists, saying the Zionist regime has "started the war but it is Iran that will decide its end".

Qalibaf said Iran will take avenge of the Zionist regime at “any time and place, and with every tool”.

The speaker went on to say that all those who helped the Zionist regime militarily and financially are “complicit” in this crime.

“This child-killing regime and gang of criminals” started a war in its “worst form” against Iran on Friday morning “but they must know that its end is at our hands, and God willing we will take avenge in any time and place, and with every tool,” remarked Qalibaf, a former IRGC commander.

Unofficial reports indicate that 78 civilians have been killed and 329 others injured in the Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Tehran.

Footage emerging from Tehran shows extensive damage to building complexes in western, eastern, and northern parts of the city. Attacks have also reportedly targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and military bases in provinces, including East Azerbaijan, Esfahan, Kermanshah, and Lorestan.

Aid workers remain at the scene, where victims are believed to be trapped under rubble.