Israel's military says it bombed targets in multiple areas in Iran on Saturday in retaliation for Iran's large-scale attack on October 1 that involved more than 180 missiles.

Iran says military facilities in the capital Tehran and other areas were targeted, with some suffering "limited damage".

Israeli forces said around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday that they were launching precision strikes on military targets in Iran.

The military issued another statement around 6 a.m., saying it had completed its air strikes on a number of targets in Iran, and also attacked missile production sites and surface-to-air missile systems.

Iranian state-run television reported multiple blasts heard around Tehran past 2 a.m. on Saturday, and several major explosions in central and eastern Tehran about three hours later.

Iran's air defense division said in a statement that military facilities in Tehran, the southwestern province of Khuzestan and the western province of Ilam had been targeted.

While claiming successful interception by its air defense systems, Iran said some locations had suffered limited damage.

Iran's state-run television quoted the military as saying projectiles launched by Israel had killed two Iranian soldiers.

Attacks on Iran's nuclear and oil facilities, which US President Joe Biden had urged Israel against, have not been confirmed.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said his country has the "duty to respond if Iran makes the mistake of carrying out another attack."

The trading of direct attacks between the two Middle East military powers follows a similar exchange in April.

There are concerns regional tensions could escalate further depending on the extent of damage in Iran.