Israel-Iran conflict: What we know
JERUSALEM (AFP): Israel targeted Iran's air defence capabilities on Saturday, pressing on with a wave of massive attacks it began a day earlier that targeted Iranian nuclear and military facilities, prompting counterattacks by Iran.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that "Tehran will burn" if Iran fires more missiles at Israel.
In a televised address Friday night, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Israel "to ruin".
International calls for restraint are multiplying, as fears grow the Middle East could be on the threshold of a broader conflict.
Here is what we know:
Targeting air defences
On Saturday, Israel's military said it was striking dozens of missile launchers in Iran after announcing it had targeted air defences with a wave of strikes in the Tehran area.
The Israeli air force "continues striking dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers in Iran", the military said in a statement.
It said that overnight the air force "struck dozens of targets, including surface-to-air missile infrastructure, as part of the effort to damage the Iranian regime's aerial defence capabilities in the area of Tehran".
Iran's response
Israel said dozens of missiles – some intercepted – had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran, with AFP images of the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv showing blown-out buildings, destroyed vehicles and streets strewn with debris.
Israeli rescuers said two people were killed and 19 wounded on Saturday by rocket fire on a residential area in the coastal plain.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked dozens of targets in Israel.
Nuclear talks?
The fiercest exchange of fire between arch foes Iran and Israel came amid ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington seeking to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear programme.
Before the Israeli strikes, they were set to hold a sixth round of negotiations in Oman on Sunday, but Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said: "It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday."
Tehran has consistently denied seeking to develop a nuclear weapon but had been enriching uranium to 60% -- far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a largely obsolete 2015 agreement with major powers.
However, Iran's 60-percent enrichment level is still short of the 90% threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.
More Iranian generals killed
Iranian state media reported on Saturday that General Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy head of intelligence of the armed forces general staff, and General Mehdi Rabbani, deputy head of operations, "were martyred".
On Friday, top brass killed included the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, and armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, with replacements swiftly named by supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The Revolutionary Guards said its aerospace commander Amirali Hajizadeh was also killed. He was in charge of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal.
Iranian media said on Saturday that three more nuclear scientists were killed, bringing the total to nine – a toll that Israel also reported.
Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Israel.
Nuclear sites hit
Israel's attacks started in the early hours of Friday, a day of rest and prayer in Iran, and continued through the day, at various sites.
A key target was a vast underground uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, which Israel hit several times, according to Iranian state television.
Israel said another strike later Friday on Iran's uranium conversion plant in Isfahan damaged infrastructure for reconverting enriched uranium.
But Iran said the damage was limited, both in Isfahan and at another uranium enrichment facility at Fordo. – AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump's $45M Birthday Parade Sparks ‘No Kings' Protests
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump kicked off his long dreamt-of military parade in Washington on his 79th birthday Saturday, as tens of thousands of protesters rallied across the country to call him a dictator. Trump saluted after walking onto a huge stage in front of the White House, with two huge tanks parked nearby, while a 21-gun salute rang out and the national anthem played. The parade, officially marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army but also coinciding with Trump's birthday, was set to feature tanks, a flyover and nearly 7,000 troops marching past. But the deep political divisions in the United States were underscored as 'No Kings' demonstrators earlier took to the streets in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Houston and Atlanta. The killing of a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota also cast a pall over the parade. Trump was quick to condemn the attacks outside Minneapolis in which former state speaker Melissa Hortman died along with her husband, while another state lawmaker and his wife were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. The 'No Kings' demonstrators were protesting what they call Trump's dictatorial overreach, and in particular what they call the strongman symbolism of the biggest parade in Washington for decades. 'I think it's disgusting,' protester Sarah Hargrave, 42, told AFP at a protest in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, describing Trump's parade as a 'display of authoritarianism.' Republican Trump, who has begun his second term by pushing presidential powers to unprecedented levels, boasted earlier on his Truth Social network that it was a 'big day for America!!!' He added that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, for whom he has repeatedly expressed admiration, had 'very nicely' called him to wish him a happy birthday. The two leaders also agreed on the need for an end to the Iran-Israel conflict -- a war in which US forces are aiding Israel to shoot down Tehran's missiles. Political violence The 'No Kings' protest organizers expected millions of people to take part in 1,500 cities in the rest of the country. Some protesters targeted Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida -- while a small group even gathered in Paris. Thousands turned out in Los Angeles to protest Trump's deployment of troops in the country's second-largest city following clashes sparked by immigration raids. The White House dismissed the rallies. 'The so-called No Kings protests have been a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance,' White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a post on X, despite photos of large crowds in a number of cities. Trump had promised to use 'very big force' if protesters attempt to disrupt the army parade in Washington. But disruption could also come from thunderstorms forecast to hit Washington as the parade continues. Trump put on a brave face, saying on Truth Social: 'Our great military parade is on, rain or shine. Remember, a rainy day parade brings good luck. I'll see you all in DC.' $45 million The military parade is the biggest in Washington since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, estimated by the army to cost up to $45 million. Soldiers will wear uniforms dating back through US history to its independence from Britain as they march past landmarks including the Washington Monument to end up at the White House. Trump has been obsessed with having a parade since his first term as president when he attended France's annual Bastille Day parade in Paris at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron. Critics have accused Trump of acting like autocrats in Moscow or Pyongyang. California's Governor Gavin Newsom, who slammed Trump for sending National Guard troops into Los Angeles without his consent, called it a 'vulgar display of weakness.'
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Netanyahu says Israel will strike 'every target of the ayatollah regime' in Iran
ISRAELI PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened on Saturday to strike 'every target of the ayatollah regime' in Iran, adding that Israeli strikes had dealt a 'real blow' to Tehran's nuclear programme. 'We will hit every site, every target of the ayatollah regime,' Netanyahu said in a video statement on the second day of Israel's air campaign targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites. 'We have dealt a real blow to their nuclear programme' since Friday, he added. 'We have opened a path to Tehran. Very soon, you will see Israeli aircraft -- our air force, our pilots -- in the skies over Tehran,' Netanyahu said, shortly after Israel's military reported it had struck 40 targets in the Iranian capital overnight, including missiles and advanced air defence systems. Israel on Friday launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, hitting more than 200 military and nuclear sites, military spokesman Effie Defrin said, killing top army commanders, nuclear scientists and other senior officials. 'What they have felt so far is nothing compared to what they will feel under the force of our arm in the coming days,' Netanyahu said Saturday. 'We are acting with full force to eliminate this dual threat to the State of Israel,' he added, referring to Iran's nuclear programme and its ballistic missile capabilities. Iran said 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first Israeli wave of strikes. Iran in return launched barrages of drones and missiles at Israel, killing three people, injuring more than 70 others and causing damage in several cities.
The Sun
28 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tens of thousands throng US streets against 'king' Trump
NEW YORK: A giant orange balloon depicting President Donald Trump in a diaper towered over one 'No Kings' protest Saturday, as tens of thousands thronged streets across the United States to decry the president's policies. Protest organizers expected rallies in all 50 US states, calling them the largest since Trump returned to office in January, with the aim of 'rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.' Wielding signs with messages like 'No KKKings!', 'No crown for the clown' and 'The Trump fascist regime must go now!' the protests stood in stark contrast to the massive military parade planned in Washington later Saturday. That parade is meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army, but also falls on the president's 79th birthday. 'I am here today to tell the world that we don't have kings in America. In America, the law is king,' Ilene Ryan told AFP at a demonstration in Boston. In New York, tens of thousands of people, wearing raincoats and carrying colorful umbrellas, marched down Fifth Avenue in the downpour to the sound of drums, bells and crowd chants of 'Hey, hey, oh, oh, Donald Trump has got to go!' Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were seen getting drenched among the protesters. 'Outraged' A few blocks away, Polly Shulman was preparing to join the march with her 'Protect the Constitution' sign. 'I'm miserable and outraged about how this administration is destroying the ideals of the American Constitution,' the 62-year-old museum employee told AFP. The most shocking thing, she said, was 'the illegal deportations of law-abiding residents.' They are 'being kidnapped and disappeared and sent to torture prisons in foreign countries.' In March, the Trump administration expelled more than 250 Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador after accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which it has declared a terrorist organization. At least four protesters were arrested at a separate, smaller protest against Trump's immigration crackdown at New York's Federal Plaza Saturday, police said. 'Mad as hell' 'I think people are mad as hell,' Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician, told AFP, urging the masses to show 'the administration that we're not going to take this.' Bill Kennedy, a retired psychologist from Pennsylvania, was in Washington protesting a few hours before Trump's big parade there. 'I'm tired of the current administration. I think they're a bunch of fascists,' he said, describing the Trump parade as 'ridiculous.' Suzanne Brown in Boston also lamented the money spent on the parade 'for one man's vanity.' Massive 'No Kings' protests were also underway in Los Angeles, which in recent days has been rocked by demonstrations over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, as federal agents carried out brutal arrests of even law-abiding people without papers. On Saturday, protesters gathered in front of federal buildings shouting 'You are not welcome here' at some of the 4,000 National Guard members and 700 US Marines that Trump dispatched to the city against the wishes of city and state authorities. With a giant orange Trump-in-a-diaper balloon towering above them, thousands filled the city streets, sporting slogans like 'No faux-king way' and 'Impeach Trump'. Members of Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot held up a large red banner in front of LA city hall warning: 'It's beginning to look a lot like Russia.' Iris Rodriguez, 44, explained that her family arrived in the United States without papers. 'I find it really, really personal... If this was my mom, if this were the 80s, this would be happening to her,' she told AFP. 'I was a little scared, but I refuse to be too scared to not come.' The country-wide demonstrations overwhelmingly took place peacefully and without incident. But in Culpeper, Virginia, police said a man had 'intentionally' rammed his car into a group of protesters as they left the event. The man, identified as 21-year-old Joseph R. Checklick Jr., 'intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the dispersing crowd, striking at least one person with his vehicle,' police said, adding that he had been arrested and no injuries had so far been reported.
