Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent effusive birthday wishes to U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, praising him as a staunch ally as Israel continued to bombard its arch foe Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's opening strike on Iran was “very successful,” in a video message released by his office. “We struck senior command, senior scientists who are advancing the development of a nuclear weapon and nuclear facilities,

Israel has long fought a shadow war with Iran while avoiding all-out conflict. Now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is risking it all in pursuit of a conclusive victory.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government survived an attempt to dissolve Israel’s parliament early Thursday morning, with most of his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners joining him in voting against a bill that would have forced them to register for military service while the country is at war.

Iran says there was damage to its Fordow and Isfahan nuclear sites from an earlier attack as the Israeli PM vows that "more is on the way".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a seven-minute video in which he confirmed a military operation against Iran called “Rising Lion” had begun and could last “as many days as it takes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in separate telephone conversations on Friday, told Iran's president that Moscow condemned Israel's actions against Tehran and told Israel's prime minister that questions around Iran's nuclear programme could only be solved through diplomacy.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will strike "every site and every target of the ayatollah regime" in Iran.