The Latest: Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day
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 Israel's 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 'the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces' if it retaliates against the United States. Trump insisted that Washington had nothing to do with Israel's 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.
___
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 Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country's 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 Iran's 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 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant, in what could be the first Israeli attack on Iran's oil and natural gas industry. Israel's military did not immediately comment.
World leaders are issuing urgent calls to deescalate.
But Israeli's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.'
Trump warns Tehran not to target U.S.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. had 'nothing to do with the attack on Iran' and warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation.
'If 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!!!' Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday.
Nuclear talks called off
Planned talks on Iran's 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 Tehran's nuclear program, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place.
Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday that the nuclear talks were 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes, which he said were the 'result of the direct support by Washington.'
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
27 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Fear Rises Among Iranian Public as Attacks Intensify
A man walks through the smoke of an explosion following Israeli strikes that hit the center of Tehran on Sunday. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters)
28 minutes ago
Trump says 'it's possible' US gets involved in Israel-Iran conflict
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US is not involved in Israel 's military strikes but "it's possible we could get involved." In an interview with ABC News' Rachel Scott, Trump said he's open to Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator in the conflict -- something he said the Russian president pitched in their phone call on Saturday. Here are highlights from the interview: On Israel's latest attack on Iran:"I think they were very devastating. It was very devastating. They were hit also, but it was a very devastating into Iran, primarily" the president said. On a deadline for Iran to come to the negotiating table:"No, there's no deadline. But they are talking. They'd like to make a deal. They're talking. They continue to talk," he said. "Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking." Asked again about the talks being called off, the president said he's confident it may help the deal -- "May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually." Will the U.S. get more involved in the conflict?:"We're not involved in it. It's possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved," the president said. Putin as a mediator in the conflict:"Yeah, I would be open to it. He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved."
CNN
28 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump wary of increasing US involvement as Israel-Iran conflict escalates
Amid ongoing waves of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, President Donald Trump is publicly and privately making clear his desire to keep the United States out of the fray for now, wary of becoming bogged in another Middle East war and highly attuned to the changing politics of his party. Sources familiar with the matter say Israel has spoken with the US about possibly increasing its level of involvement, though one Israeli official cautioned those conversation have not yet included 'practical' discussions of the finer details. And while Trump hopes to avoid a prolonged conflict that could further destabilize the Middle East, some in the administration recognize that American military assistance may help Israel conclude its objectives more quickly, the sources said. 'We're not involved in it. It's possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,' Trump told ABC News on Sunday morning. The competing interests have created a complicated dynamic for a president eager to make good on his pledge to bring peace to the world's troubled regions. Since Israel launched its first attack early Friday morning, the US has offered defensive support to Israel intercepting an onslaught of Iranian reprisal strikes. But Trump has stopped well short of joining Israel's military in its attempts to dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities, resisting pressure from fellow Republicans to join the fight. He said in a social media post Saturday that he felt the conflict 'should end' as he continues to hold out hope for a negotiated agreement that would curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions, even after planned talks this weekend in Oman between the US and Iranian negotiating teams were called off. At stake is Trump's promise to act as a global peacemaker — or, as he told his inaugural crowd in January, to 'bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable.' That vow has already been tested by his inability to bring about an end to the Ukraine conflict and halting efforts to stop the fighting in Gaza. Now, as a new flashpoint is threatening to spiral out of control on Trump's watch, the commander-in-chief is attempting to limit US involvement. 'The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight,' Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday amid a fresh round of attacks in the region. 'If 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!!!' The post sent the message that Trump's line for getting more directly involved in Israel's assaults would be an attack on American facilities or personnel in the region. Short of that, the US role in the conflict so far has largely been defensive. The Israeli operation against Iran is expected to take 'weeks, not days' and is moving forward with implicit US approval, according to White House and Israeli officials. The Trump administration has not critiqued the weeks-long timeframe in private discussions, an Israeli official told CNN. A White House official said the administration was aware and implicitly supportive of Israel's plans. When asked about how long the conflict could continue, the official said it depended on Iran's response. 'The Trump administration firmly believes this can be solved by continuing negotiations with the US,' the official said, adding that the US was not going to direct Israel to do anything but defend itself. American military planners have long had prepared options for joint US-Israeli actions against Iranian facilities should a US president ultimately decide to try taking out Iran's nuclear facilities, some of which are buried deep underground. There is little to indicate Trump has come close to approving such options, however, and according to an Israeli official, the possibility of offensive US support for Israel's strikes inside Iran had not been discussed on a 'practical basis.' 'We are not there, on a practical basis,' the Israeli official said. 'If at some point, the United States decides to take an offensive role, I don't think we'll be in a position to try and talk them out of it – but that's not our ask,' the official said, adding that such a move would be a sovereign decision of the US. The official explained that the endgame is to make sure that Iran is 'no longer an existential threat' to Israel, with both its nuclear and ballistic missiles program. 'If it's done in conjunction with allies, fine, but if it's not done in conjunction with allies, we have to do it ourselves,' the official said. Inside the White House, there continues to be heavy skepticism about getting involved in the conflict further, according to multiple officials familiar with the matter. Trump remains concerned about getting dragged into a war he didn't start and wanted to avoid, and is acutely aware of the complicated politics at play, those officials said. Though he publicly warned Israel against launching an attack on Iran ahead of Friday's strikes, he said afterward he was supportive of the effort and well aware that it was being planned. Prev Next Trump has long promised not to engage in 'nation building' adventurism overseas, decrying his predecessors for sending American troops to die in wars that generated little benefit back home. 'For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions it was never meant to be' a part of, said Trump told graduating cadets at West Point last month. 'They sent our warriors on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us, led by leaders that didn't have a clue in distant lands,' he said, vowing to never repeat the mistake. Now, however, he is under pressure from some of his Republican allies to take a more interventionist role. 'If diplomacy fails, going all in for Israel shows that America is back as a reliable ally and a strong force against oppression. It would strengthen our hand in all corners of the world, as well as all other conflicts we face,' Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote on X last week.
