Iran has confirmed that Israel killed General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's missile programme. Iranian state television made the acknowledgment on Friday afternoon.

A short time earlier, Israel had said it killed Hajizadeh, a major commander within the Guard, overseeing its ballistic missile arsenal.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump again urged Iran to reach a on its nuclear programme, warning that Israel's attacks “will only get worse”.

In his first public comments since the Friday attacks, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end”.

In a related development, oil surged, stocks fell and investors sought safety in the US dollar and government bonds on Friday after Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military targets in an attack that raised the risk of all-out war between the two nations.

US benchmark crude oil rose by USD 4.97, or 7.3 per cent, to USD 72.91 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, increased by USD 4.78 to USD 74.15 per barrel, a gain of 6.67 per cent.

Oil prices are likely to rise in the short term but the key question is whether exports are affected, said Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil at S and P Global Commodity Insights.

“When Iran and Israel exchanged attacks previously, prices spiked initially but fell once it became clear that the situation was not escalating and there was no impact on oil supply,” he wrote in an emailed analysis.

“Oil price risk premiums could rise sharply if Iran conducts broader retaliatory attacks, especially if on targets other than in Israel,” Joswick said. China is the only customer for Iranian oil but could seek alternative supplies from Middle Eastern exporters and Russia, he added.

Iran's oil trade is restricted by Western sanctions and import bans, and Israel exports only small amounts of oil and oil products.

With agency inputs