US President Donald Trump, whose second term has been devoted to going it alone, makes his return to the Group of Seven in crisis mode after Israel attacked Iran.

Israeli defense officials believe the element of surprise maximized the operation’s impact and may buy Israel critical time as Iran edges closer to nuclear breakout capability.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Operation Rising Lion will continue for "as many days as it takes."

Israel launched airstrikes against Iran's nuclear programme and military targets, in the early hours of Friday, June 13. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement said US is not involved in the strikes against Iran.

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

Mr. Netanyahu said Israel was facing “difficult days, but great days” ahead. He also repeatedly invoked the Holocaust — the annihilation of European Jewry — as a reason not to treat a nuclear Iran lightly. “Together, with God’s help, we will ensure Israel’s eternity,” he said.

Israel has killed the head of Iran's armed forces and bombarded the country's nuclear facilities overnight in a devastating series of strikes designed to stop Tehran building an atomic bomb. In what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called "a decisive moment",

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced the launch of a large-scale military campaign, Operation Rising Lion, aimed at dismantling what he described as an existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.