The death toll is growing as Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks for a third consecutive day on Sunday, and Israel is warning that worse is to come.
Israel targeted Iran’s Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran’s nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel.
The region braced for a drawn-out conflict after Israelâs strikes hit nuclear and military facilities, killing several senior generals and top nuclear scientists.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also had a warning for Tehran, saying it can expect âthe full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forcesâ if it retaliates against the United States. Trump insisted that Washington had nothing to do with Israelâs attack on Iran.
Israel launched its attacks after weeks of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran announced Thursday that it planned to activate a third nuclear enrichment facility shortly after the U.N. nuclear watchdog censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations.
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Here’s the latest:
Death toll grows in Israel
At least 10 people in Israel were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israelâs Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the countryâs total death toll to 13.
At least six people, including two children, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing.
An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases.
Four people were killed when a missile struck a building in the northern Israeli town of Tamra, and another 24 were wounded. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42 people.
Explosions in Tehran
New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iranâs U.N. ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.
Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a âstrong explosionâ at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant, in what could be the first Israeli attack on Iranâs oil and natural gas industry. Israelâs military did not immediately comment.
World leaders are issuing urgent calls to deescalate.
But Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israelâs strikes so far are ânothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.â
Trump warns Tehran not to target U.S.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. had ânothing to do with the attack on Iranâ and warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation.
âIf we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!â Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday.
Nuclear talks called off
Planned talks on Iranâs nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, have been called off.
The Arab Gulf country of Oman, which has been mediating indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehranâs nuclear program, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place.
Iranâs top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday that the nuclear talks were âunjustifiableâ after Israelâs strikes, which he said were the âresult of the direct support by Washington.â
Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.
