Israel says it has hit southwestern Iran military sites
Israel says it has killed a veteran Iranian commander during attacks by both sides that have included multiple Israeli strikes in southwestern Iran.
The more than week-long air war between Israel and Iran continued with reports of strikes on an Iranian nuclear facility.
The White House said it was weighing whether to back Israel in the conflict while Turkey, Russia and China have urged de-escalation.
Two US officials on Saturday told Reuters B-2 bombers were being deployed to Guam.
While they did not disclose details on numbers of B-2s, which can carry weapons designed to destroy targets deep underground, one of the officials said no orders had yet been given to move the aircraft beyond Guam.
Israeli military officials said they had completed another series of strikes in southwestern Iran, having targeted dozens of military targets.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met UK, French and German counterparts, plus the European Union, on Friday in Geneva in search of a path back to diplomacy and a possible ceasefire.
Proposals made by the European countries, however, were "unrealistic," the senior Iranian official told Reuters, saying that insistence on them would not bring agreement closer.
"In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting," the official said, adding that zero enrichment was a dead end and Iran would not negotiate over its defensive capabilities.
Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes.
Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' overseas arm, was killed in a strike on an apartment in the city of Qom.
Calling his killing a "major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force," Katz said Izadi had financed and armed the Palestinian militant group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
The Revolutionary Guards said five of its members died in attacks on Khorramabad, according to Iranian media.
They did not mention Izadi, who was on United States and United Kingdom sanctions lists, but said Israel had also attacked a building in Qom amid initial reports of a 16-year-old killed and two people injured.
At least 430 people have been killed and 3500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.
More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.
Israeli officials said 1272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.
At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in Istanbul, Araqchi said Israel's aggression, which he said had indications of US involvement, should stop so Iran can "come back to diplomacy".
"It is obvious that I can't go to negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardments under the support of the US," he told reporters on the sidelines, before meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The top Iranian diplomat said US involvement in the conflict would be "very dangerous".
US President Donald Trump has said he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel's side, enough time "to see whether or not people come to their senses," he said.
Gulf Co-operation Council ambassadors expressed concerns to United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi about the safety of nuclear facilities close to their countries and "dangerous repercussions" of targeting them, Qatar state news agency said.
Israel said it was attacking military infrastructure.
Early on Saturday, air raid sirens were triggered across parts of central Israel and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with missile interceptions visible over Tel Aviv and explosions echoing.
An Iranian drone strike pierced a hole through the side of a two-storey residential building in northern Israel, according to the national emergency service.
There were no reports of casualties.
Those killed in Iran include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists.
Israel said it also killed a second commander of the Guards' overseas arm, whom it identified as Benham Shahriyari, during an overnight strike.
Iranian Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarqandi said Israel has attacked three hospitals during the conflict, killing two health workers and a child, and has targeted six ambulances, according to Fars.
Asked about such reports, an Israeli military official said that only military targets were being struck, though there may have been collateral damage in some incidents.
An Iranian missile hit a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Thursday.
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Sky News AU
38 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Australia made ‘irrelevant' after US strikes on Iran: Sharma
Australia's former ambassador to Israel and Liberal senator Dave Sharma says Anthony Albanese has made Australia 'irrelevant' after the US launched strikes on Iran and the Prime Minister failed to secure a meeting with Donald Trump. Speaking to Sky on Monday, Senator Sharma said while Australia never had a 'huge' amount of influence, 'we've largely made ourselves irrelevant through this conflict'. 'I mean, look, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn't have a meeting with Trump where this would have obviously come up if he'd had a discussion,' he said. 'We had Richard Marles on the television yesterday calling for de-escalation at the very same time, almost, that US B-2 bombers (were) flying from Missouri (and) were striking nuclear targets in Iran.' He said Labor had 'dealt ourselves out of a traditional role' as being a contributor and 'major player' in international discussions. 'No one listens to our views seriously anymore in the on these issues, particularly in the Middle East,' he said. '(On) Israel, the relationship with this government is very bad. 'The United States, we don't yet seem to have a relationship with the new Trump administration, or at least key parts of it.' Hastie lashes 'flat-footed' Albo Acting opposition foreign affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie has accused Mr Albanese of a 'flat-footed' response to the US attack and having poor instincts on the issue. Speaking to ABC Radio National on Monday morning, Mr Hastie said he was happy to see his counterpart Penny Wong had backed in the US on the strikes however the delayed response demonstrated Mr Albanese' mismanagement. 'I'm glad we have bipartisanship on this—that the world, as she said, has agreed Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon,' he said. 'We support action to prevent that, which is why we supported the US strikes yesterday. I think, though, what yesterday demonstrated was that the Prime Minister is flat-footed. 'His instincts aren't great on this, and he should have called an NSC meeting yesterday for an event of such significance. Instead, it's happening this morning.' Mr Hastie added the strikes 'needed to happen' in order to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. 'Iran would not come to the table, and the risk of them getting a nuclear weapon was huge, and it was a direct threat to regional stability and world peace,' he said. 'Intelligence agencies will debate when Iran planned to break out and put all the componentry together and have an actual nuclear weapon. 'But the risk was there, and that's why action was taken, and I think that's the context in which we need to see the strikes that took place yesterday.' Albo's 'deathly silence' blasted Nationals leader David Littleproud and independent Jacqui Lambie have also called on Mr Albanese to address Australia's stance on the conflict and US involvement. Mr Littleproud labelled Mr Albanese not having made a public statement as of Monday morning a 'deathly silence'. 'This was a decisive, strategic act that will make the world safer,' Mr Littleproud said. 'Now, we don't want to see a protracted conflict. And it sounds as though the United States doesn't want to be involved in a protracted Middle East conflict. 'There's no way in the world that we could get ourselves involved in that. 'We do need to be able to defend ourselves first when we've got Virgin pilots finding Chinese ships in our waters. There is an underinvestment here that needs to be rectified.' Mr Littleproud claimed the move showed the government was trying to 'sit on the fence' due to domestic politics. 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Following reports Mr Albanese would give comment after a National Security Committee meeting on Monday, Mr Morrison said it could have met earlier but hoped they would 'come out with a very strong statement in support of our allies'. More to come Originally published as Liberal senator Dave Sharma says Aus made 'irrelevant' after US strikes on Iran
Perth Now
39 minutes ago
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‘Nervous': Trump strikes spook ASX
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West Australian
an hour ago
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Donald Trump Iran plan: US President suggests ‘regime change' could ‘Make Iran Great Again'
US President Donald Trump says a 'regime change' may be needed to 'Make Iran Great Again'. After authorising B-2 pilots to drop an enormous payload of bombs on Iranian nuclear targets as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, the US President issued a warning to the Middle Eastern nation, saying peace was needed to avoid 'future attacks'. 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' Mr Trump said from the White House on Saturday (local time). 'If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.' As the region grapples with the intensity of the US strike and the direct involvement of the leader of the free world, Mr Trump has suggested Iran's Government may need to be toppled. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change', but if the current Iranian regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a regime change???' Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding 'MIGA!'. Mr Trump in another post confirmed that the pilots who dropped the bombs on Iran were back on US soil. 'The GREAT B-2 pilots have just landed, safely, in Missouri. Thank you for a job well done!' he wrote. The posts come as the United States and the world waits for signs of potential retaliation from Iran after Mr Trump said key nuclear sites in Tehran had been 'obliterated', joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran's enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, 'no one - including the IAEA - is in a position to assess the underground damage'. Mr Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran's sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again. 'Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,' said Mr Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran requested the UN Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body 'to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.' Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the US and Israel 'do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.' Mr Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the US strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Mr Danon said: 'That's for the Iranian people to decide, not for us.' - With Reuters.
