Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other; Trump Says He Can ‘Easily' End Conflict

Asharq Al-Awsat

19 hours ago

Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores and raising fears of a wider conflict, as US President Donald Trump said it could be ended easily while warning Tehran not to strike any US targets.
Israeli rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13.
Sirens rang out across Israel after 4 pm on Sunday in the first such daylight alert, and fresh explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv.
In Iran, images from the capital showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran's oil and gas sector, raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.
Iran has not given a full death toll but said 78 people were killed on Friday and scores more have died since, including in a single attack that killed 60 on Saturday, half of them children, in a 14-storey apartment block flattened in Tehran.
Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" with a surprise attack on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days. Iran has vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation.
The Israeli military warned Iranians living near weapons facilities to evacuate.
"Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments in the town of Bat Yam where six people were killed.
An official said Israel still had a long list of targets in Iran and declined to say how long the offensive would continue. Those attacked on Saturday evening included two "dual-use" fuel sites that supported military and nuclear operations, he said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran's responses will grow "more decisive and severe" if Israel's hostile actions continue.
TRUMP WARNS IRAN NOT TO ATTACK
Israeli skies have been streaked with barrages of Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptor rockets. Some 22 of Iran's 270 ballistic missiles fired over the past two nights breached Israel's anti-missile shield, Israeli authorities say.
With worries growing of a regional conflagration and oil prices having shot up, Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part in it. He warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets.
"If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before," he said in a message on Truth Social. "However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict."
Early on Sunday Trump said the sides will have peace "soon", adding many unspecified meetings were taking place.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes, but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb.
The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, due to be held on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack.
OIL PRICE: TENSE WAIT FOR MARKETS TO OPEN
Oil prices already shot up by 9% on Friday before Israel had struck any Iranian oil and gas targets. Financial markets are holding their breath to see whether prices surge further when trading resumes on Monday after the weekend, with potentially punishing consequences for the global economy, or settle down on hopes that Gulf exports will escape relatively unscathed.
Since Saturday, Israel has hit the oil depot in Tehran and facilities at Iran's huge South Fars gas field, the world's largest, which produces gas for domestic consumption.
But so far Israel has spared targets associated with Iran's oil exports. Traders say oil buyers have loaded up on long-term contracts for protection in case of supply disruption, but uncertainty could drive wild price swings.
Iran said the situation at the burning Shahran oil depot in the capital was under control. It told citizens to seek shelter in mosques, schools and subways.
Israel's military said its aircraft hit 80 targets overnight including the headquarters of Iran's defense ministry and also its nuclear project. Iranian media showed pictures of rescue workers combing through damaged buildings with flashlights.
In Israel, the second night of Iranian attacks began shortly after 11 pm on Saturday (2000 GMT), when air raid sirens blared in Jerusalem and Haifa, sending around a million people into bomb shelters.
Another barrage followed hours later, with explosions echoing through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as missiles streaked across the skies and interceptors were deployed.
At one time, Iran could have expected military support from proxy forces in Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq. However, 20 months of war against the Hamas group in Gaza and last year's conflict with Lebanon's Hezbollah have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, reducing its options for retaliation.
The Israeli military official said Israel had targeted the chief of staff of Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who fired a missile towards Israel.
Israel has said its operation could last weeks. Netanyahu has openly urged Iran's people to rise up against their clerical rulers.