Explosions shake Tehran as Iran's tensions with Israel escalate: witness.

TEHRAN -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched late Saturday night a "large-scale combined offensive operation" against Israel, involving a significant number of missiles and drones, the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News reported.

The IRGC's aerospace division carried out the attack, stating it was in response to Israel's "repeated aggressions" against Iran, according to Sepah.

In Israel, a rocket struck a residential building in a northern community, killing one woman and injuring 13 others, according to Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency medical service. Several others sustained moderate to light injuries, and four individuals were treated for anxiety, MDA said.

Earlier in the day, MDA reported that at least three people had been killed and 204 others injured since the beginning of the Iranian offensive.

Following the latest wave of attacks, Israel's Home Front Command advised residents outside the Haifa and northern regions that they could exit bomb shelters but should remain close to protected areas.

The Israeli military stated that its air defense systems were actively intercepting incoming projectiles, while Israeli air force units were carrying out strikes on military targets in Tehran.

Iran's Ministry of Petroleum confirmed that two oil depots in Tehran were hit during the attacks. Residents reported two powerful explosions in the capital, with blasts felt in both the western and northern districts. The ministry said the situation was "under control."

Meanwhile, Jordan temporarily closed its airspace late Saturday as a precautionary measure following the Iranian missile barrage. The country's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission announced that the step was taken to ensure the safety of civil aviation.

The Iranian offensive came in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes conducted early Friday, which targeted Tehran and several other cities. Iranian authorities said the Israeli strikes resulted in the deaths of multiple senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and dozens of civilians.

JERUSALEM -- A woman was killed and 13 others were injured on Saturday night when a missile launched from Iran struck a two-story building in the Arab city of Tamra in northern Israel, according to Israel's national emergency service, Magen David Adom.

A barrage of missiles was fired from Iran toward wide areas of northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. According to Israel's Channel 12 News, the attack involved more than 40 missiles.

Following the missile launches, smartphone alerts were issued and sirens were activated in Haifa, the Galilee region, the Sea of Galilee area, and other northern locations, prompting hundreds of thousands of residents to seek shelter.

The IDF stated that, while intercepting the incoming missiles, the Israeli air force was also conducting strikes on military targets in Tehran.

TEHRAN -- An Israeli airstrike struck an ambulance in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, killing two people, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the vehicle was "deliberately targeted" while carrying out humanitarian operations. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Separately, Iranian authorities said 16 people were arrested in the central province of Isfahan on charges of supporting Israel and spreading propaganda, Tasnim reported.

The detainees were accused of actions including "disrupting public opinion in cyberspace" and engaging in activities deemed supportive of Israel. Under Iranian law, collaboration with Israeli entities is a criminal offense and carries severe penalties.

The reported incidents come amid a surge in hostilities following Israeli airstrikes launched early Friday that hit targets across Iran, including in the capital Tehran. Iranian state media said several senior military officials and nuclear scientists were killed in the attacks.

In retaliation, Iran has fired multiple ballistic missiles at Israeli military positions since Friday night, with cross-border exchanges continuing into Saturday.

TEHRAN -- Israeli airstrikes in Iran's East Azerbaijan province have killed 30 military personnel and one rescue worker, the province's Governor, Bahram Sarmast, announced on Saturday.

The attacks, which began in the early hours of Friday, have also wounded 55 people across 19 different locations, according to a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Among the sites hit was Tabriz Airport, a key logistics and transport hub in the provincial capital. Video footage from the scene showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Iranian media reported additional damage to the nearby Shahid Fakouri military airbase and parts of the adjacent railway network.

In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Israel launched a series of coordinated airstrikes targeting strategic locations across the country, including in the capital, Tehran. Iranian state media has confirmed the deaths of several high-ranking military commanders and prominent nuclear scientists in these attacks.

In response to the Israeli offensive, Iran has launched barrages of ballistic missiles at military targets inside Israel since Friday night, further intensifying the conflict.

TEHRAN -- An Israeli micro aerial vehicle hit an onshore refinery of the phase 14 of Iran's South Pars gas field in Bushehr province on Saturday, causing an explosion at the facility, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Due to the explosion, a part of the Fajr Jam gas refinery has caught fire, Tasnim said, adding no report was released yet of the extent of damage.

It added that Iranian passive defense and rescue forces were managing the situation.

The attack comes amid heightened tensions following Israel's large-scale strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, which have raised fears of broader regional escalation.

Early Friday, Israel launched airstrikes on Iran's capital Tehran and other cities across the country with the aim of crippling Iran's nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile production, and military capabilities.

In response, Iran on Friday night and early Saturday morning launched rocket barrages against Israeli targets. According to Israel's state-owned Kan TV News, three Israelis were killed and 172 others injured as a result of the attacks.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on Saturday that "we have paved a path to Tehran. In the very near future, Israeli jets will be seen over the skies of Tehran."

He warned that Israel would strike any site of Iran, "and what they have felt so far is nothing compared to what they will feel under our arms in the coming days."

He noted that Israel's goal is to thwart a "dual threat" from Iran, the nuclear program and ballistic weapons, for the destruction of Israel.

"We have hit Iran's main enrichment site very hard, we have hit the conversion facility that is essential for the use of nuclear bombs, we have hit the team of scientists who lead these projects, and this certainly sets them back, possibly for many years," he added. "We will do other things, which I cannot detail."

Regarding the "ballistic threat," Netanyahu claimed that Iran plans to reach an arsenal of 20,000 missiles, and that is why Israel is working to destroy Iran's production capabilities.

BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, over the phone on Saturday.

In the phone call, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China firmly opposes Israel's use of force against Iran in violation of international law.

The immediate priority is to avoid conflict escalation, keep the region from falling into greater turmoil and return to diplomacy for resolving disputes, Wang said.

He added that there is still room for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue as military means cannot deliver lasting peace.

China urged both Israel and Iran to resolve differences through dialogue and seek peaceful coexistence, Wang said, adding that China is willing to play a constructive role in supporting these efforts.

BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.

Araghchi briefed Wang on the latest regional developments and expressed his hope that the international community would speak with one voice in urging Israel to halt its military operations.

He thanked China for its consistent understanding and support of Iran's position and expressed confidence that China will play an even more important role in promoting regional peace and stability.

For his part, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China condemns Israel's violation of Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and firmly opposes the reckless attacks targeting Iranian officials and causing civilian casualties.

China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, defending its legitimate rights and interests, and ensuring the safety of its people, he said.

Israel's actions, Wang said, seriously violate the principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations. In particular, Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities have set a dangerous precedent with potentially catastrophic consequences, he noted.

Wang said China is willing to maintain communication with Iran and other relevant parties to continue playing a constructive role in de-escalating the situation.

TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday stressed that the continuation of indirect negotiations between his country and the United States amid Israel's "continued brutality" is unjustifiable.

He made the remarks in a phone call with the European Union (EU)'s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas while describing Israel's hostile actions as a result of US direct supports, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Araghchi stressed that to protect its national sovereignty, people and security, Iran had given a decisive response to Israel's "aggression" and was determined to use its "legitimate" right to take countermeasures.

He censured a recent anti-Iran resolution proposed by France, Britain, Germany and the United States that was adopted at the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency about Tehran's nuclear program, saying that resolution provided a pretext for Israel's attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Araghchi strongly condemned the Israeli actions of violating Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity and attacking the country's nuclear facilities and residential areas. He called for a decisive global response to and the international condemnation of Israel's "aggression".

Kallas, for her part, expressed deep regret and concern over the escalation of tensions in the West Asia region, and voiced the EU's readiness to support diplomatic efforts at the UN Security Council and other international bodies to help reduce tensions and restore peace and security to the region.

Starting since April, Iran and the United States have held five rounds of Omani-mediated indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear program and the removal of US sanctions. The sixth round was scheduled to be held on Sunday in the Omani capital Muscat.

Israel early Friday launched airstrikes on Iran's capital Tehran and other cities across the country, killing a number of top Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.

Iran on Friday night responded to the attacks by launching a salvo of ballistic missiles against military targets in Israel.

Commenting on Iran's decision about taking part in the sixth round of the talks with the United States, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, "Under the present circumstances, our main focus is on confronting the enemy's aggression."

JERUSALEM -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it had killed more than 20 Iranian military commanders since it launched operations on Iran early Friday.

The IDF stated that in the opening strike of the operation, Israeli fighter jets, guided by intelligence, killed Gholam-Reza Marhabi, the head of the Iranian army's Intelligence Directorate, and Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri.

"Marhabi played a key role in intelligence evaluations, operational planning, and combat preparations against Israel," the statement read.

According to the IDF, Bagheri oversaw most of Iran's long-range surface-to-surface and cruise missile capabilities that serve as Iran's primary offensive tools against Israel.

He managed Iran's firepower systems and played an active role in the decision-making processes behind Iran's attacks on Israel in April and October 2024, it added.

He was killed alongside the air force commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and several other senior commanders in an underground headquarters in Tehran.

Iran's nuclear energy facilities at Fordow and Natanz suffered limited damage inflicted by Israeli attacks on Friday and Saturday, according to Iranian news media.

"There has been limited damage to some areas at the Fordow enrichment site," the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted by ISNA news agency, as saying, adding that the uranium enrichment facility at the Fordow site in the Qom province remained unharmed. "We had already moved a significant part of the equipment and materials out, and there was no extensive damage and there are no contamination concerns."

Earlier, atomic energy organization spokesperson said the attacks caused superficial damages to the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran's central province of Isfahan.

Kamalvandi said chemical and radioactive contamination has been detected inside the Natanz site, but it had not spread outside the facility. "We need to clean up the radiation inside the Natanz facility and then assess the damage," he said in a statement, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency.

Other facilities, including a nuclear research center in the city of Tabriz, were also targeted by Israeli attacks.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that its fighter jets carried out a precision-guided airstrike on the Natanz nuclear facility overnight.

Moreover, IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said in a video briefing that Israeli air force fighter jets had completed an attack on the Isfahan nuclear facility in central Iran on Friday, among others. It added that the strike was carried out with precise guidance from the IDF Intelligence Directorate.

Iran's UN envoy Saeed Iravani, in a media statement delivered after a UN Security Council session on Friday, said: "Let me be clear: Israel attacked safeguarded nuclear sites. This was a reckless, criminal act that could have triggered a radiological catastrophe far beyond Iran's borders.

"Such an attack is not only a violation of the UN Charter, the Statute of the IAEA, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is a direct threat to regional and global peace.

"This was not simply an attack on Iran. It was an attack on the international legal order, an attack on the United Nations, an attack on every nation that believes in the rule of law over the rule of force."

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, on Friday told the agency's board of governors that "nuclear facilities must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment."

In a statement, Grossi said the IAEA is currently in contact with the Iranian nuclear safety authorities to ascertain the status of relevant nuclear facilities following the airstrikes by Israel, and to assess any wider impact on nuclear safety and security.

China's permanent representative to the IAEA, Li Song, said China condemns Israel's military action against Iran and opposes armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, stressed that the Islamic Republic "has never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and is ready to provide assurances to relevant international authorities in this regard."

JERUSALEM -- Three Israelis were killed and 172 others injured in rocket barrages launched from Iran on Friday night and early Saturday morning, according to Israel's state-owned Kan TV News.

It reported that two of the victims, identified as 73-year-old Israel Aloni and Eti Cohen Angel, in her 60s, were killed when a rocket struck the central city of Rishon LeZion on Saturday. The attack also left 27 people injured at the scene and caused significant damage to several homes.

On Friday night, a woman was killed in the Iranian attack in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, the channel said.

Of the injured, one was in serious condition, 15 were moderately wounded, and the remainder suffered minor injuries. According to the Israeli army, seven of the injured are soldiers, all of whom were lightly hurt.

According to the Israeli army, Iran launched hundreds of missiles in five barrages during the assaults.

TEHRAN -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday that the country has not yet decided whether to take part in the sixth round of indirect talks with the United States scheduled to be held in Oman on Sunday.

In an interview with state-run IRIB TV, Baghaei stressed that Iran finds it inconceivable that recent Israeli airstrikes on its territory were conducted without coordination with, or at least the tacit approval of, the United States.

It was not acceptable for "the other side" to claim readiness for dialogue on one hand, while on the other, allowing Israel to perpetrate an act of "aggression" against Iran's territorial integrity, Baghaei said.

He added that Israel had always sought to draw Western states into a conflict in the West Asia region. This time, Israel once again had succeeded in derailing a diplomatic process, which proved that US policymakers were highly under Israel's influence, the spokesperson said.

Starting since April, Iran and the United States have held five rounds of Omani-mediated indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear program and the removal of US sanctions. The sixth round was scheduled to be held on Sunday in the Omani capital Muscat.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said earlier this week that an agreement with the United States to ensure the "continued peaceful nature" of Tehran's nuclear program was "within reach."

Israel early Friday launched airstrikes on Iran's capital Tehran and other cities across the country with the aim of crippling Iran's nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile production, and military capabilities.

Iran on Friday night responded to the attacks by launching a salvo of ballistic missiles against military targets in Israel.

TEHRAN - Israel on Saturday carried out fresh attacks on a number of Iran's western and northwestern cities, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

Several explosion sounds were heard in the western city of Kermanshah as a result of the strikes, the report said, adding an explosion was also heard near the western city of Khorrambad in Lorestan province.

The air defense has been activated in Kermanshah, according to Mehr.

Also, on Saturday morning Israel carried out attacks targeting areas around the northwestern city of Tabriz, said Majid Farshi, director general of East Azarbaijan province's crisis management department.

He added that an Israeli drone was downed by the city's air defense.

According to Mehr, no damage was inflicted on Tabriz's refinery in the Israeli attacks, and the facility is working at full capacity.

Israel early Friday launched airstrike on the Iranian capital Tehran and other cities across the country.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, Chief Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami, Gholam-Ali Rashid, commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, and Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division Amir Ali Hajizadeh were assassinated in the airstrikes.

JERUSALEM - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it had killed nine senior Iranian nuclear scientists and experts.

The statement said the nine were struck by Israeli fighter jets, guided by the IDF's Intelligence Directorate, at the beginning of the Israeli operation in Iran early Friday morning.

The scientists served as significant "knowledge centers" in the Iranian nuclear project and possessed decades of accumulated experience in the development of nuclear weapons, it added, noting that among them were experts in nuclear engineering, physics, chemical engineering, materials engineering, and mechanics.

The Israeli military stated that one of its targets in launching airstrikes against Iran was to prevent Iran from developing nuclear arms, but Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons.

Israel early Friday launched airstrikes on Tehran and other cities across Iran.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, Chief Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami, Gholam-Ali Rashid, commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, and Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division Amir Ali Hajizadeh were killed in the airstrikes.

In retaliation for the Israeli strikes, late Friday, the IRGC announced that it launched a military operation against "tens of" targets, military centers, and aerial bases in Israel.

TEHRAN - Iran's kamikaze drones of the Arash type hit and destroyed targets in Israel on Saturday morning, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

Arash is an unmanned aerial vehicle with an operational range of over 2,000 km designed and developed by Iran's military experts.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said in a statement on Friday that it had launched a military operation against dozens of targets, including military centers and aerial bases in Israel, in retaliation for Israel's airstrikes, in which a number of high-ranking Iranian military commanders, prominent nuclear scientists and innocent civilians were killed earlier in the day.

TEHRAN -- At least 60 people, including 20 children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a 14-story building in a residential complex in the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday morning, state-run IRIB TV reported Saturday.

The residential complex, named Martyr Chamran, is located northeast of Tehran, and was among the places hit by Israel in its airstrikes on different parts of the capital and other Iranian cities, the report said.

According to IRIB TV, as the debris removal operations continue, some 38 people have been pulled out of the rubble.

It added of those still beneath the rubble, 10 were children, including infants under nine months old.

Israel early Friday launched airstrikes on Tehran and other cities across Iran.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, Chief Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami, Gholam-Ali Rashid, commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, and Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division Amir Ali Hajizadeh were killed in the airstrikes.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasized that Israeli aggression will be met with an appropriate response and that Iran has never pursued nuclear weaponry.

Pezeshkian described the Israeli strikes on Iran as a blatant violation of international law, noting that Israel is seeking to create and expand tensions in the region, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency or IRNA of Iran.

Regarding the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, the Iranian president stated that the Islamic Republic "has never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and is ready to provide assurances to relevant international authorities in this regard".

Earlier, Iranian officials said they are seeking cooperation with Russia in developing civilian use of nuclear energy.

While Pezeshkian expressed gratitude to Putin for Russia's solidarity in Friday's phone call, Putin offered condolences to the Iranian leadership and people "in connection with the heavy loss of life caused by Israeli strikes," according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

Putin said that Russia is ready to mediate to help de-escalate tensions, IRNA reported.

The Russian president also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone late Friday. Putin stressed that "Russia condemns Israel's actions, which were carried out in violation of the UN Charter and international law," Interfax said.

Putin stressed the importance of returning to the process of talks and resolution of all issues concerning Iran's nuclear program "strictly through political and diplomatic means," according to Interfax.

A United Nations conference planned to be hosted by France and Saudi Arabia to work toward a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine has been postponed amid escalating tensions after Israel's military strikes on Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.

Macron said logistically, neither the Palestinian Authority nor Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman could attend the conference scheduled for June 17-20 in New York due to the military escalation in the region.

Both Israel and Iran have closed their airspace amid missile and drone attacks, while flights in other countries have also been disrupted by the conflict.

Macron said the meeting would be rescheduled as soon as possible.

"This postponement cannot undermine our determination to move forward with the implementation of the two-state solution," Macron told a news conference in Paris."Whatever the circumstances, I have stated my determination to recognize the State of Palestine."

The US administration sent a diplomatic cable earlier this week discouraging governments from attending the conference, according to a Reuters report.

The Saudi Crown Prince on Friday talked by phone with Macron as well as US President Donald Trump about the latest development in the region, according to Arab News.

Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince discussed the critical importance of de-escalation and resolving all disputes through diplomatic means, the Saudi Press Agency reported. They also stressed the need for continued joint work to achieve security, peace, and stability in the Middle East.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have suffered from severe famine and Israeli bombings and shootings that caused dozens of civilian deaths almost daily.