Israel unleashed an Iranian airstrike on Sunday’s third day, threatening even greater power as some Iranian missiles avoid Israeli air defense and attack buildings in the heart of the country. Planned consultations regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, have been halted.
The region supported the prolonged conflict after Israel’s surprise bombing of Iran’s nuclear and military facilities on Friday killed several generals and nuclear scientists, showing no signs of retreat on either side. Iran said Israel has attacked two oil refineries and increased the prospects of a broader attack on Iran’s heavily licensed energy industry that could have an impact on global markets.
In a social media post, Israeli military warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, informing them that the campaign could be further expanded.
US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel’s actions, warning that Iran can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci said on Sunday that if Israel is hit by an Iranian halt, “our response will also cease.”
Explosions in Tehran
A new explosion echoed throughout Tehran, reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update on the death toll issued the previous day by Iran’s UN ambassador.
Israel’s Mazen David Adom Rescue Service reported that at least 10 people died overnight and Sunday in Iran’s strike, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13.
Israel targeted Iran’s Ministry of Defence early Sunday morning after crashing into air defense, military bases and sites related to the nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists on targeted strikes showed that Israeli Intelligence had penetrated Iran at the highest level.
The dead are mounted in Israel
In Israel, at least six people were killed, including a 10- and 9-year-old boys, when missiles struck a Batyam apartment near Tel Aviv. Local police commander Daniel Haddad said 180 people were injured and seven are still missing.
An Associated Press reporter bombed cars and shards of glass as he saw a street lined with damaged and destroyed buildings. The responders used drones at points to search for survivors. Some people could see them leaving the area with suitcases.
Four more people, including the 13-year-old, were killed, and 24 were injured when missiles struck a building in the Arab town of Tamura in northern Israel. 42 strikes in the central city of Rehobot.
The Weizmann Institute of Science, a key research center at Rehovot, said “there were many hits in the buildings on the campus.” He said no one could hurt him.
Israel has sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses that can detect and intercept missiles launched in densely populated areas or major infrastructure, but authorities have admitted it is incomplete.
An urgent call for discale
World leaders urgently called for ease of weakness. Attacks on nuclear sites set a “dangerous precedent,” the Chinese foreign minister said. The region is already on the edge as Israel is trying to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled such a call, saying that the Israeli strike “is nothing compared to what we feel under the shaking of our troops in the coming days.”
Israel, an undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said Iran launched an attack to prevent the development of nuclear weapons. Both countries have been regional enemies for decades.
Iran has always said its nuclear program is peaceful and that the US and others have not pursued weapons since 2003. However, in recent years it is believed that multiple weapons can be developed if they enrich larger stockpiles of uranium to weapon-grade levels and choose to do so within a few months.
The UN’s Atomic Watchdog denounced Iran last week for failing to comply with its obligations.
Araguchi, the top Iranian diplomat, said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another oil refinery in Buscher province, the Persian Gulf country. He said Iran was targeting Israel’s “economic” sites.
Araguchi had spoken with diplomats in his first public view since the first Israeli attack.
Iran’s semi-public press has reported that Israel’s drone strike caused a “strong explosion” at Iran’s natural gas processing plant. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
The extent of the damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defense systems targeted by Israel.
Iran calls nuclear lectures “unjust impossible”
Oman, on the Arab Gulf Coast, has mediated indirect talks between the US and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, but said the sixth round planned on Sunday would not happen.
“We will continue to commit consultations and hope that Iranians will come to the table soon,” a senior US official said he will discuss the delicate consultations on condition of anonymity.
Iran’s foreign minister, Araguchi, said on Saturday that nuclear talks after Israel’s strike were “unfair.”
In a post about his truthful social account early Sunday, Trump repeatedly said that the US was not involved in the attack on Iran, warning that retaliation directed against it would bring about American responses “at a level that we have never seen before.”
“But it is easy to make a deal between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict!!” he wrote.
“More than a few weeks” to repair nuclear facilities
In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by the Associated Press show significant damage at Iran’s major nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Images taken by Planet Labs PBC on Saturday show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The hit structures include buildings identified by experts as powering the facility.
UN Nuclear Chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the ground division of the Natantz facility has been destroyed. The main underground centrifugal facilities did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of electricity could damage the infrastructure there, he said.
Israel also attacked Isfahan’s nuclear research facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency said four “significant buildings” including the uranium conversion facility were damaged. He said there were no signs of increased radiation in Natanz or Isfahan.
An Israeli military official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with official procedures, saying Iran “will take more than a few weeks” to repair damage to Natanz and Isfahan’s nuclear sites, according to an Army’s initial assessment. Officials said the Army “has the concrete intelligence that production in Isfahan is for military purposes.”
Tensions were high during UN Security Council meetings on Friday to deal with missile strikes between Israel and Iran. “We must at any cost to avoid a huge fire that will bring about great global outcomes,” warned Governor Rosemary DiCarlo.
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Ridman and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Natalie Meltzer of Naharya, Israel, and Nasser Karimi of Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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