Israel-Iran conflict: new Israeli strikes on Iran, which responds with missile salvos

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he intends to strike "all regime sites" as part of his attack on the Islamic Republic, launched Friday morning with the aim of preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli military reported targeting targets "related to the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons project," including the Defense Ministry and the headquarters of the Defensive Innovation and Research Organization, also known by its Persian acronym, SPND. According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, one of the ministry's buildings was "lightly damaged."

Two fuel depots were also hit. "The Shahran oil depot (in northwest Tehran) and another tank to the south (of the city) were targeted by the Zionist regime," the Oil Ministry said overnight.

"Tehran is burning," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz commented on X on Sunday morning.

In response, Iran launched two rounds of missile attacks on central and northern Israel, which have killed eight people and injured more than 130 since Saturday evening, according to Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross.

The Iranian strikes, carried out using drones and missiles, notably targeted refueling facilities for combat aircraft, said the Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic's ideological army.

Iran is suspected by Western powers and by Israel, considered by experts to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this and defends its right to develop a civilian nuclear program.

An ally of Israel, Donald Trump had called on Iran on Friday to reach an agreement with the United States on its nuclear program, while a new round of indirect talks was scheduled for Sunday in Oman. But Muscat announced Saturday that these discussions would not take place, with Iran accusing Israel of having undermined them.

"Point of no return"

Since Friday, Israel, claiming that Tehran was approaching the "point of no return" towards an atomic bomb, has targeted hundreds of Iranian military and nuclear sites and killed several military officials as well as scientists in its nuclear program.

The Israeli Air Force struck several sites on Saturday, targeting air defense systems in the Tehran region and dozens of missile launchers. The army asserted that it now has "freedom of air action throughout western Iran, as far as Tehran."

The day before, airstrikes had targeted the Natan z pilot uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing information from Iranian authorities, said the facility's surface area had been destroyed.

The Israeli army also said it had "dismantled" a uranium conversion plant in Isfahan (central Iran). Iran has criticized the IAEA for its "silence" on the Israeli attacks and said it will "no longer cooperate" with it "as before."

The Israeli strikes also killed the country's top military officers, including Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami, the commander of the Guards' Aerospace Force, Amirali Hajizadeh, and the chief of staff, General Mohammad Bagheri. Nine scientists from Iran's nuclear program were also killed.

Iran's representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, reported on Friday at least 78 deaths and more than 320 injuries, including "a large majority of civilians." A drone strike on an ambulance in the northwest of the country left two dead on Saturday, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

"We will strike all the regime's sites and targets," Benjamin Netanyahu declared, claiming to have the "clear support" of US President Donald Trump. "We have dealt a real blow to their nuclear program," he added. Donald Trump, however, said he agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that "the Israel-Iran war must end."

As calls for restraint grow within the international community, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Israel of plunging the Middle East into a "dangerous cycle of violence."

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian has promised a "stronger" response against Israel if its military continues its deadly strikes.

"It's normal for the war to cause stress, but I won't leave my city […] We've experienced similar episodes in the past and I have faith in my country," said Chokouh Razzazi, a 31-year-old housewife in Tehran.

Iran's airspace is closed until further notice, the official IRNA news agency announced. In Israel, Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, is also closed. Jordan, Israel's neighbor, also closed its airspace for the second time since Friday.