The attacks marked the most significant blow to Iran’s military leadership in recent history, with the country losing its two top commanders — Bagheri and Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — in a single day.

The US State and Defense departments on Wednesday made efforts to arrange the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East, according to US officials and sources familiar with the efforts.

The State Department ordered all nonessential staff to leave the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and authorized the departure of nonessential staff and families from Bahrain and Kuwait.

London's FTSE 100 retreated on Friday after closing at a record high in the previous session as Israel's attacks on Iran ramped up geopolitical tensions, but gains in energy stocks limited declines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was a preemptive attack focused on Iranian nuclear facilities, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival.