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Iran launches another wave of attacks on Israel as conflict widens

Iran launches another wave of attacks on Israel as conflict widens

The Nationala day ago

Iran launched another wave of attacks on Israel early Saturday, state media reported, after Israel's military said it detected missiles inbound from Iran.
'New round of Honest Promise 3 attacks,' state television reported, referring to the name of the Iranian military operation against Israel, following deadly Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
Waves of missiles against Israeli cities amount to the most forceful step yet by Tehran since Israel's overnight raids killed senior Iranian military leaders and damaged military infrastructure.
Israel said it identified missiles launched from the Islamic Republic and reported explosions from interceptions and falling debris from projectiles. There was video of at least one large explosion in Tel Aviv, and reports of blasts across Jerusalem.
An Iranian rocket has killed one person and injured more than 20 when it hit near homes in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, according to Israel 's emergency services.
A number of people were reported to be trapped under the rubble, it said.
'This is a difficult and complex scene and we are still continuing to scan and ensure that there are no additional victims inside the buildings,' said Rami Musher, deputy director of the Ayalon region's emergency services.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran had crossed a red line by targeting civilian areas.
Mr Katz said Iran will "pay a heavy price for it" as three have been killed and over 64 people injured by Iranian missiles.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that he went to shelters five times following Iran's missile strikes.
'Been rough night in Israel. Had to head to shelter five times during the night,' Mr Huckabee wrote on X. 'It's now Shabbat here. Should be quiet. Probably won't be. Entire nation under orders to stay near shelter.'
The extent to which Israel's air defences were breached is unknown. US forces assisted by firing on Iranian missiles.
In Iran, state media reported that air defences were reactivated in expectation of a response.
Fate of Iran-US nuclear talks in doubt
Following Friday's attacks, Iran said it was withdrawing from the sixth round of nuclear negotiations that were due to take place in Oman on Sunday with US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The talks were supposed to forestall military action against Iran by forcing it to give up all uranium enrichment capabilities and abandon its drive to develop a nuclear weapon.
Tehran considered the dialogue with the US over the Iranian nuclear programme 'meaningless' after Israel's biggest military strike yet, which it accused Washington of supporting.
'The other side [the US] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime [Israel] to target Iran's territory,' the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
He said Israel 'succeeded in influencing' the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington's permission.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday that he and his team had known the attacks were coming – and still believed there was room for an accord.
'We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out,' Mr Trump said. 'They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late.'
Mr Trump said he had repeatedly pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay an attack to give diplomacy more time, though the US President himself had threatened to bomb Tehran if nuclear talks failed.

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