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Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Israeli Defense Minister warned on Saturday that “Tehran will be burning” if Iran continues to launch missiles.
Israeli forces said the strike killed nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 were injured.
Iran retaliated by launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles in Israel. There, an explosion lit up the night sky in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, shaking the buildings. Israeli forces have already rattled during the 20-month war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas’ October 7 attack, urging already rattling civilians to evacuate for hours. Health officials said three people were killed and dozens were injured.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz said Iran will pay a large price to hurt Israeli citizens. “If (Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Katz said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his aim was to eliminate Iranian threats to Israel, but he also urged Iranians to stand up to their leaders. Israel would welcome government overthrow, even if it is not actively seeking it.
Strikes could derail nuclear lectures
The US and Iran were scheduled to be in Oman on Sunday for indirect talks in the sixth round of Iran’s nuclear program, but Israel’s attacks raised doubts about whether negotiations would progress.
A top Iranian diplomat said on Saturday that Israel’s post-strike talks were “unjust” and that there is likely no negotiations with Washington this weekend. However, he stopped saying that the speech had been cancelled.
Comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci came when I spoke on the phone with Kaja Karas, the top European Union diplomat.
Israeli airstrikes were “the result of direct support from Washington,” Araguchi said in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. The US says it’s not part of the strike.
After Araguchi’s comments, there were no immediate words from the White House. On Friday, US President Donald Trump urged Iran to sign a contract with the US on its nuclear program. He warned of the true social platform that Israel’s attacks “just worsen” and added, “Iran must make a deal before anything remains.”
Iranian missiles attack Israel
In a message recorded on Friday, Khamenei signaled that Iran is ready to maintain a retaliatory attack on Israel.
Iran launched waves of missiles in Israel late Friday and early Saturday, with Iranians awake to state television and fired repeated clips of strikes against Israel as well as videos of people giving out sweets cheering for them.
The Iranian attack killed at least three people, and about 70 people were injured, mainly in and around Tel Aviv, according to two local hospitals. According to the first responder, one missile severely damaged at least four homes in the nearby city of Reshon Legion.
Israeli forces said seven soldiers were mildly injured when the missile struck central Israel. This was the first report of Israeli military casualties since the first Israeli attack.
The US ground air defense system in the area was helping to fire down Iranian missiles, a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity said he would discuss the measure.
In Ramatgan, east of Tel Aviv, a journalist with the Associated Press saw a burnt-out car and at least three damaged homes.
Residents of Israel’s central city, which was attacked Friday night, told the Associated Press that the explosion was so powerful that shelter doors opened. “We thought it was that. We thought half of the house was gone,” Moshe Shani said.
Israeli police said debris from drones and missile intercepts in dozens of locations in northern Israel had reduced damage and fires but no injuries.
Israel’s major international airport said on Saturday it will remain closed until further notice.
Signs of a new Israeli attack
Television in the Iranian state has reported online that air defenses are firing in cities in Khloramabad, Karmanshah and Tabriz, marking the beginning of what could become a new Israeli attack. Tabriz’s footage showed black smoke rising from the city.
Israeli military officials said on Saturday that the military is poised to take more strikes in Iran, saying “this is not over.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with official procedures.
Israeli Army spokesman Brigg. General Effy Deflin said Israel has attacked more than 150 targets across Iran. This includes 40 people from Tehran. He said this was the deepest point in Israel’s air forces operating, and that the military is targeting Iran’s air defense.
Overnight, Iranian air defense systems with sounds of explosions and fire at targets echoed through central Tehran. Iran’s subderived Tasnim News Agency has reported a fire at Merabad International Airport in Tehran.
Israel’s continued airstrikes and Iran’s retaliation have already pushed the region even more vigorously, raising concerns about a full war with the country. Israel’s war with Gaza shows no signs of an end. At least 27 people have been killed in the Israeli fire in Gaza, according to a local hospital.
Regional countries condemned Israeli attacks, and leaders around the world called for immediate hair removal from both sides.
“More than a few weeks” to repair nuclear facilities
Among the key sites that Israel attacked was Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke rose into the air.
Satellite photographs analyzed by the AP show significant damages at Natantz’s nuclear enrichment facility. Images taken by Planet Labs PBC on Saturday show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The hit structures include buildings identified by experts as supply capabilities to the facility.
Israel also said it had attacked Isfahan’s nuclear research facility, destroying dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed a strike in Isfahan.
Israeli military officials said it would take more than a few weeks for Iran to repair damage to Natanz and Isfahan’s nuclear sites, according to the Army’s initial assessment. Officials said the Army “has the concrete intelligence that production in Isfahan is for military purposes.”
Israel denied that an Iranian news outlet close to the government attacked a nuclear enrichment facility on Ford, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran, after it reported the sound of an explosion near the site.
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 have destroyed the infrastructure there, he said.
Netanyahu said the attack had been taking place in months and was planned for April before it was postponed.
Among the people killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders. General Mohammad Bagheri was one of the people who oversaw the entire army. He led General Hossain Salami, a paramilitary revolutionary guard. and the head of the Aerospace Division, a security guard who oversees General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, an arsenal of the ballistic missile program.
Two deputies for Bagelli were also murdered, Iran confirmed on Saturday. On Saturday, Khamenei appointed General Majid Musabi, the new leader in the aerospace division of revolutionary security guards.
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Ridman and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Natalie Meltzer, Associated Press writer for Naharya, Tehran, Iran, and Nasser Karimi, Israel, contributed to the report.
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