Israel-Iran Conflict Escalates: Missile Strikes and Airstrikes Rock the Middle East after Israeli Offensive. Following a major Israeli air offensive targeting Iranian nuclear sites and military leadership, Iran retaliated with widespread missile attacks. The conflict, raising fears of regional war, resulted in casualties on both sides and prompted a US response
In Tehran, Iranian state TV reported that around 60 people, including 20 children, had been killed in an attack on a housing complex.
Israel faced a massive barrage of approximately 200 Iranian ballistic missiles launched in four waves. Air raid sirens blared across the country, sending residents scrambling for shelter as Iron Dome interceptors engaged the incoming projectiles. At least three Israeli civilians were killed in the attacks
Trump praises Israeli strikes on Iran, warns of escalation unless Iran drastically curtails its nuclear program as demanded by the U.S. Further talks, scheduled for Sunday, are now uncertain
Israel's extended military operation against Iran, potentially lasting weeks, fuels fears of a wider Middle East conflict. Israel's call for Iranian uprising against its clerical rulers increases the risk of regional escalation and global economic instability, impacting international markets and finances
US Support for Israel in Missile Defense: Two US officials confirmed American assistance in intercepting Iranian missiles launched during Saturday's retaliatory attacks on Israel
Despite Israel's Iron Dome defense system, Iranian missile attacks hit Israeli residential areas, prompting Defense Minister Israel Katz to declare Iran's actions a crossing of a red line
Israel's Defense Minister warns Tehran faces devastating retaliation if Supreme Leader Khamenei continues missile attacks on Israeli civilians. Following Iran's retaliatory missile barrage, the stark warning underscores the escalating Middle East conflict and potential for wider regional war
Following Friday's devastating Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, military bases, and leadership, Iran vowed revenge. The attack, which killed 78 people, including civilians, according to Iran's UN envoy, prompted immediate retaliation
Iran issues stark warning: Allies aiding Israel in missile defense face retaliatory strikes. Following Israeli airstrikes, Tehran threatens regional military bases supporting Israel's missile defense systems
Yemen's Houthi rebels, allied with Iran, launched missile attacks against Israel on Friday. However, at least one missile misfired, injuring five Palestinians, including three children, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent
Iran's regional power projection and retaliatory capabilities have been significantly weakened. Two years of conflict in Gaza and Lebanon have severely damaged its key allies, Hamas and Hezbollah, diminishing its influence and military options in the region
Amid escalating Iran-Israel conflict and soaring oil prices, Gulf Arab states, wary of Iranian aggression and potential regional conflict, urge calm. Friday's oil price surge—a 7% increase—reflects growing concerns over disruptions to vital Gulf oil exports
Iran launched a massive overnight attack on Israel, firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones. The assault resulted in at least three civilian deaths and numerous injuries, according to emergency services. This followed Israel's extensive air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities
Israel-Gaza Conflict: Baby Rescued from Missile-Hit Home in Rishon LeZion. Emergency crews in Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv, rescued a baby girl from a home destroyed by a missile strike during the ongoing conflict. Dramatic video footage shows rescue teams searching the rubble
And in the western suburb of Ramat Gan, near Ben Gurion airport, Linda Grinfeld described her apartment being damaged: “We were sitting in the shelter, and then we heard such a boom. It was awful.”
The Israeli military said it had intercepted surface-to-surface Iranian missiles as well as drones, and that two rockets had been fired from Gaza.
With Iran’s air defences heavily damaged, Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar said “the road to Iran has been paved”.
In preparation for possible further escalation, reservists were being deployed across Israel. Army Radio reported units had been positioned along the Lebanese and Jordanian borders.
In Iran, explosions were heard overnight across the capital, state media reported. Fars News agency said two projectiles had hit Mehraband airport, located inside the capital, which is both civilian and military.
State television reported that a 14-storey housing complex, Shahid Chamran, had been flattened by a missile. It said 60 people had been killed, though there was no immediate official confirmation.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on that report.
Iran’s U.N. envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people had been killed in Israel’s strikes on Friday and more than 320 wounded, most of them civilians.
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombing campaign was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon – even though U.S. intelligence says it has seen no sign that this is imminent.
Israeli U.N. envoy Danny Danon called the strikes “an act of national preservation”.
A military official on Saturday said Israel had killed nine Iranian nuclear scientists, and that the damage to the nuclear facilities at Esfahan and Natanz would take “more than a few weeks” to repair.
Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian in line with its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that it does not seek an atomic bomb.
However, it has repeatedly hidden parts of its programme from international inspectors, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported it in violation of the NPT.
Israel, which is not an NPT signatory and is widely understood to have developed a nuclear bomb, has said it cannot let its main regional foe gain atomic weapons.
Iranian talks with the United States to resolve the nuclear dispute have stuttered this year.
Tehran implied that it would not attend the round that was scheduled for this weekend in Oman, albeit without definitively refusing.
“The other side (the U.S.) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard.”
Pope Leo appealed “to responsibility and to reason”.
“The commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue to build a lasting peace, founded on justice, fraternity, and the common good,” he said.
“No one should ever threaten the existence of another. It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace.”
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Cynthia Osterman, Stephen Coates and Angus McDowall; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kevin Liffey)
Source: Original Article