TEHRAN — With explosions rocking the capital for a second day and Israeli leaders warning that “Tehran will burn” if missile attacks continue, many Iranians are bracing for a drawn-out war with no clear end in sight — or certainty over how, or if, their country can respond.

Israeli airstrikes continued on Saturday, with Israeli officials claiming control of the skies “from western Iran all the way to Tehran” and threatening further escalation. Iran’s state media reported new explosions in the capital, including near Mehrabad airport, and confirmed additional IRGC personnel had been killed.

Just hours earlier, Iran had launched a wave of drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel in retaliation for earlier Israeli attacks that killed senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. At least three people were killed and more than 70 injured, according to Israeli officials, as blasts struck the Gush Dan region around Tel Aviv and forced residents into bomb shelters.

The exchange follows Israel’s massive aerial assault on Friday — code-named Rising Lion — which targeted nuclear facilities and killed several top Iranian military commanders, including the IRGC chief and the armed forces’ head. Iran’s retaliation, Operation True Promise 3, involved strikes on multiple military and nuclear sites around Tehran, Mashhad and Tabriz, with footage showing air defenses activating amid explosions.