Israel urges US to join bombing as Iran sends HUGE missile shower: Tower block turns to rubble with at least 13 dead and hundreds more injured amid retaliation strikes that leave Tehran 'burning'

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

Children are among the at least 13 people who have died in Israel following Iran 's barrage of missiles it sent in the latest round of escalating strikes between the two nations.
Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries near Tehran overnight, as well as the headquarters of Iran's Ministry of Defence, while Israel said that the death toll had risen to 10, as emergency workers frantically sift through rubble to try and find injured people.
An estimated 200 people in Israel were injured by the strikes. Israeli Raja Khateeb, his wife, and their three daughters were all reportedly among those killed in the Iranian strike on the town of town of Tamra, near Haifa.
Iran's ambassador to the UN said that by Friday evening, Israeli strikes had killed 78 and left over 320 wounded. Yesterday, Iran said that 60 people, including 29 children were killed after an Israeli missile brought down a 14-storey block of flats. Separately, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province said 30 troops and one rescuer were killed, while a further 55 were left wounded.
The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel 's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the attacks on Israel will end when its 'aggression stops.'
He also accused the UN Security Council of 'indifference' over Israel's attacks on Tehran.
He claimed in a meeting with foreign diplomats that Western governments have 'condemned Iran instead of Israel despite it being the side that was violated.'
He also claimed to have 'solid proof' that American troops have supported Israel's strikes against Iran on Thursday night, the event that directly led to this weekend's escalating violence.
He said: 'We have solid proof of the support of the American forces and American bases in the region for the attacks of the Zionist regime military forces.'
Iran has since said that most of the people killed and injured in Israel's missile attacks were women and children.
Meanwhile, Israel has warned Iranians living near weapons production sites in Iran to evacuate, signalling an imminent escalation in military action.
The IDF's Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adrae wrote in a post to X on Sunday: 'For your safety, we ask you to please immediately evacuate the areas of these facilities and to not return until further notice.
'Being in the vicinity of these areas endangers your life', he said, adding that the warning also extended to areas near 'facilities that support weapons production in Iran.'
This morning, Israel's president said that missiles sent by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'aimed to kill.'
He called Tehran 'evil, pure and deliberate' and said Iran's ideology is 'hatred, chaos, terror, fanaticism'.
Writing on X, he said the world 'must stand with Israel for the sake of humanity'.
Last night, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address that Israel would 'strike every site and every target of the Ayatollah's regime.'
Today, Netanyahu's defence minister Israel Katz said: 'The IDF will attack the sites and continue to peel the Iranian snake's skin in Tehran and everywhere else from nuclear capabilities and weapons systems.
'The Iranian dictator is turning Tehran into Beirut and the residents of Tehran into hostages for the survival of his regime.'
Last night, the IDF said they have 'established aerial superiority from western Iran to Tehran'.
'We have created aerial freedom of action from west Iran all the way to Tehran,' said Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin.
Despite this,t he Institute for the Study of War has said that Israel inflicted 'extremely effective' but not yet 'fatal' damage in its latest analysis/
Satellite imagery analysed by the think tank showed heavy damage to the north-west and north-east corners of the Natanz Nuclear Facility, Iran's primary enrichment facility.
Members of Israel's Home Front Command search for missing people under the rubble of a partially collapsed residential building after Iranian ballistic missiles hit Bat Yam, central Israel, 15 June 2025
The IDF has struck what it says was Iran's 'nuclear programme headquarter'
Natanz is where Iran produced most of its nuclear fuel. But much of the facility is underground, and is therefore not vulnerable to above-ground attacks.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday they targeted central Israel's Jaffa with several ballistic missiles in the last 24 hours, the first time an ally of Iran has joined the fray.
Tehran has warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles.
However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation.
Yesterday, Israel targeted Iran's critical energy infrastructure at gas and fuel sites on Saturday, according to a statement from Iran's oil ministry.
Images show a fuel depot in the Shahran district of Tehran on fire. Strikes on the South Pars field, the world's largest gas field, and The Fajr Jam Gas Refining Company in the Bushehr province were also reported.
Separately, Israel's pipelines and transmission lines in Haifa have been damaged by Iran's missile attacks.
Oil Refineries filed a regulatory to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in which it said that no injuries or casualties were reported at the sites, with refining facilities continuing to operate despite a shutdown of some downstream operations.
A plume of heavy smoke and fire rise over an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025
It said it is examining the impact of the damage on its operations and implications on its financial results.
With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.
Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon.
Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. The UN nuclear watchdog, however, reported Iran this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
US President Donald Trump said the conflict could be easily ended while warning Tehran not to strike any American 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,' Trump said in a message on Truth Social.
'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict', he added.
Trump gave no details of any possible deal.
In response, Iran has reportedly approached Oman and Qatar to act as intermediaries with the United States, hoping to broker a ceasefire that would bring an end to Israel's military offensive.
A plume of heavy smoke rises over an oil refinery in southern of Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025
On Saturday, Britain deployed more jets to the region after Iran threatened the United States and UK that it could retaliate if they come to Israel's defence.
This morning, Rachel Reeves on Sky News said the UK was deploying assets to protect ourselves and 'potentially to support our allies'.
She noted that in the past the UK has 'helped protect Israel' from 'incoming strikes'.
'I'm not going to comment on what might happen in the future, but so far, we haven't been involved, and we're sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.'
On the economic front she said there were two 'immediate concerns' – energy prices and trade routes.
She said oil and gas prices gone up by just over 10 per cent, although were 'still down compared to a few months ago'.
'Of course we are keeping an eye on that,' she said.
Ms Reeves said trade routes were very important.
'We've seen disruption there in the past, partly because of the Houthi attacks for example. So that is a cause for concern.'
Pressed how bad the situation could be, she said: 'It is very early days and things are moving quickly. But when we urge for de-escalation in the region that is in part because of the lives at risk… but also because what happens in the Middle East affects us here at home.
'It's why in the Spending Review this week we invested heavily in our defence to keep our country safe.'
Last night, the British Jewish community was urged to be on heightened alert last night amid fears of terrorist 'revenge' attacks following Israel's strike against Iran.
Synagogues have stepped up security while communities were warned to 'avoid displaying Jewish or Israeli symbols in public spaces'.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity set up to protect British Jews, said it was stepping up efforts at synagogues, schools and community buildings.
It comes as Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that Europe 'owes [Israel] a huge thank you' for its military operation against Iran.
She said: 'Our region would have been a place that is not safe for anyone if Iran had accomplished their plan.'
But the UK's Foreign Office this morning announced it was advising against all travel to Israel, following the weekend's military escalations.
The FCDO pushed Israel from an 'Amber' country to a 'Red' country, putting Israel on the same level as Iran.
In Iran, authorities arrested two alleged Mossad spies, who were reportedly caught in the northern Alborz region preparing explosives and electronic devices.
It comes just a day after local media reported that five people were arrested in the city of Yazd for allegedly 'collaborating with Israel.'