Israel and Iran trade strikes for the third day as nuclear negotiations are cancelled
Israel unleashed an entire Iranian air strike on the third day of Sunday and threatened greater forces as some Iranian missiles escaped Israeli air defenses to attack buildings in the center of the country. Plan talks on Iran's nuclear program, which may offer off-road and is cancelled.
The region encountered protracted conflict after an Israeli accident bombing on Iran’s nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists on Friday, with neither side showing any sign of retreat. Iran said Israel attacked two refineries, increasing the prospect of a broader attack on the energy industry that Iran has severely approved, which could impact global markets.
The Israeli military warned Iranians to evacuate weapons factories in social media posts and indicated that the campaign could be further expanded. At around noon local time, the Iranian capital Tehran heard the explosion again.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he expressed full support for Israel's actions, while warning Iran that further damage can be avoided only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if Israel stops strikes against Iran, “our response will also stop.” He said the United States “is the partner in these attacks and must be held accountable.”
Watch | Participation in the United States:
Dozens of Iranian retaliation missiles shook the skies in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Friday. The attack happened after a strike from Israel earlier that day, and Iran said it had “war started.” CBC's Crystal Goomansingh and SASA Petricic provide the latest, former U.S. Secretary of State PJ Crowley told the Hanmamanians tonight what this might mean for Iran's nuclear negotiations and whether the United States can participate in the conflict.
The explosion in Tehran
New explosions across Tehran were reported earlier on Sunday elsewhere in the country, but no updates to the death toll released by the Iranian UN ambassador the day before, saying 78 people were killed and more than 320 were injured.
In Israel, at least 10 people died in Iran’s strikes until Sunday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom Rescue Service, the country’s total death toll reached 13.
Israel strikes against Iran's defense ministry, after hitting air defense, military bases and ruins related to the nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in a targeted strike suggests that Israeli intelligence has penetrated into Iran at the highest level.
Israel's death toll boards
In Israel, at least six people, including children aged 10 and 9, were killed when the missile hit a apartment building in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv. Local police commander Daniel Hadad said 180 people were injured and seven others were missing.
An Associated Press reporter saw the street lined with damaged and destroyed buildings that blew up cars and debris of glass. Responders use drones to find survivors at locations. Some people can be seen leaving the area with suitcases.
Watch | Daniel Byman discusses the latest information:
Daniel Byman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies joined in discussions on the latest attacks between Israel and Iran.
Four other people, including a 13-year-old man, were killed when a missile attacked a building in Tamra, a small Arab town in northern Israel. The strike against the Central City was injured 42.
“There are many hits on campus,” said the Weizmann Institute of Science, a key research center in Rehovot. It said no one was hurt.
Israel has sophisticated multi-layer defense capabilities that can detect and intercept missiles launched in densely populated areas or on major infrastructure, but officials acknowledge that this is incomplete.
Urgent call for downgrade
World leaders urgently call for downgrade. The attack on nuclear sites sets a “dangerous precedent,” the Chinese Foreign Minister said. The region was already on the edge when Israel tried to annihilate Hamas at Iranian allies in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made such a call, saying that Israel’s strike so far “has nothing compared to the shock of our troops in the coming days.”
Israel is the only undeclared nuclear-weaponed country in the Middle East – said it launched an attack to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. These two countries have been regional rivals for decades.
Iran has been saying its nuclear program is peaceful, with the United States and others assessing that it has not pursued weapons since 2003. However, in recent years it has brought uranium stocks to an increasing level with levels close to weapons-level, and it is believed that if this can be done, multiple weapons can be developed within a few months.
Watch | Iran's revenge strike:
Iran launched a retaliatory missile attack on Israel on Saturday morning, killing at least three people and injuring dozens of people after a series of bubbles in Israel’s nuclear program and its armed forces. Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 were injured in the Israeli attack.
UN Atomic Watchers condemned Iran last week for not complying with its obligations.
Iran's top diplomat Araghchi said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and a refinery in Bushere province in the Persian Gulf. He said Iran has not elaborated on Israel's “economic” sites.
Araghchi spoke to diplomats in his first public appearance since the initial Israeli strike.
Semi-official Iranian news agency reported that Israeli drone strikes caused a “strong explosion” at Iran's natural gas processing plants. Israel's army did not immediately comment.
The extent of damage to the southern natural gas field is still unclear. There are air defense systems around such sites, and Israel has been aiming for them.
According to the company that runs the company, a refinery was also damaged in Haifa, northern Israel. The pipelines and transmission lines between the facilities were damaged, forcing some downstream facilities to be shut down, Bazan Group said. It said no one was injured.
Iran calls nuclear talks “unreasonable”
The Arab Gulf country, Oman, has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran's nuclear program, said the sixth round scheduled for Sunday will not be held.
“We are still committed to the negotiations and hope that Iranians will arrive at the table as soon as possible,” a senior U.S. official said while discussing sensitive negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said on Saturday that nuclear talks were “unreasonable” following Israel's strike, saying it was “a result of direct support from Washington.”
Trump reiterated in an article on his Truth Social Account earlier Sunday that the U.S. was not involved in the attack on Iran, warning that any retaliation against it would make the U.S. response “never seen.”
“But it's easy for us to complete the agreement between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict!!!” he wrote.
Repairing the 'more than a few weeks'
In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show severe damage to Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities in Natanz. Images taken by Planet Labs PBC on Saturday show multiple buildings damaged or damaged. The hit structure includes the building identified by experts as a supply of facilities.
UN nuclear director Rafael Grossi told the Council that the above-ground parts of the Natanz facility were destroyed. The main centrifugal facilities in the underground seem to be missing
He said being hit, but losing power could damage infrastructure there. Israel also attacked the nuclear research institute in Isfahan. The IAEA said four “critical buildings” were damaged, including its uranium conversion facilities. It said there was no sign of increased radiation from Natanz or Isfahan.
An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iran was to repair damage to the nuclear sites of Natanz and Isfahan, according to preliminary assessments from the Army. The official said the Army “has specific intelligence that Isfahan's production is for military purposes.”
