Iran launches second wave of attacks on Israel amid escalating conflict

Iran’s latest missile barrage targeted Israeli cities including Haifa, with Iranian media claiming oil facilities and business centres were hit.

The Israel-Iran conflict intensified dramatically over the weekend, with Iran launching a second wave of missile attacks on Israel late Saturday, hours after Israel carried out an unprecedented assault on Iranian nuclear and military installations. The rapidly escalating hostilities have thrown the region into fresh turmoil and triggered urgent global calls for de-escalation.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared "Tehran is burning" as explosions were reported in eastern and western parts of the Iranian capital. Iranian state media confirmed the blasts, which came just before midnight, as Israeli jets continued to strike key infrastructure targets. Among the sites hit were Iran's Natanz nuclear facility and other military and missile-related installations.

Satellite imagery reviewed by Associated Press showed extensive damage at Natanz, including power-supplying structures crucial to uranium enrichment operations. Iran’s UN envoy reported that 78 people were killed and over 320 wounded in the Israeli strikes.

Iran’s latest missile barrage targeted Israeli cities including Haifa, with Iranian media claiming oil facilities and business centres were hit. Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, confirmed the death of a woman in the north and injuries to over a dozen others after a two-story home was struck.

Earlier waves of Iranian missile attacks, beginning late Friday, killed at least three Israelis and wounded 174, according to Israel's military. Seven soldiers were reported lightly injured in central Israel. US ground-based air-defence systems helped intercept some of the incoming missiles, a US official confirmed.

In a potentially major escalation, Iranian semi-official media reported that an Israeli drone had struck a natural gas processing facility linked to the massive South Pars gas field, the first reported Israeli attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure. The extent of the damage remains unclear, and the Israeli military has yet to comment.

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, spokesperson for the Israeli army, said Israeli forces had struck over 400 targets across Iran, 40 of them in Tehran, including missile infrastructure. He claimed Israeli fighter jets were “operating freely” over Iranian airspace. Iran’s state TV reported active air defences in multiple cities including Khorramabad, Kermanshah, and Tabriz, and a fire at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.

Heavy casualties were also reported in Eastern Azerbaijan province, where a regional governor confirmed 30 military personnel and a rescuer were killed, with 55 others injured.

The sixth round of indirect US-Iran talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme, scheduled for Sunday, has been cancelled, mediator Oman confirmed. A senior US official said Washington remains open to dialogue but noted that Iran must “return to the table soon.”

Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi called the talks “unjustifiable” in the wake of Israeli airstrikes, accusing the US of backing the attacks. He made the remarks during a call with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. While the US has denied involvement in the strikes, former President Donald Trump on Friday urged Iran to “make a deal before there is nothing left.”

The latest developments have prompted urgent international appeals for restraint. China’s foreign minister warned that Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear sites sets a “dangerous precedent.” The region is already on edge as Israel intensifies its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, following nearly two years of ongoing conflict.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme a top priority, said Israel’s current offensive is "nothing compared to what [Iran] will feel in the coming days."