JERUSALEM - Israel and Iran traded deadly fire for a fourth day on Monday in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.
The longtime foes have fought a prolonged shadow war through proxies and covert operations, with Israel battling several Iran-backed groups in the region, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
Here are the latest developments:
- Mounting casualties -
In a major campaign launched early Friday, Israeli fighter jets and drones have struck nuclear and military sites in Iran, also hitting residential areas and fuel depots.
Iran's health ministry says at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,200 wounded.
Tehran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones that hit Israeli cities and towns, killing at least 24 people and wounding 592 others, according to the prime minister's office.
Israel has also killed many top military commanders and atomic scientists in Iran as part of an offensive that officials say seeks to end nuclear and missile threats from the Islamic republic.
- Devastating strikes -
Israeli strikes could be heard across the capital, AFP journalists reported, after Israel issued an evacuation order for the northern District 3, home to embassies and UN offices.
The Iranian state broadcaster IRIB building, located in the district, was hit in a strike, following Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's warning that "the Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear."
The Israeli military said that after a wave of strikes on Monday, its forces had destroyed one third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers.
According to military spokesman Effie Defrin, "we have now achieved full air superiority over Tehran".
That followed a wave of intense air raids across the country, from the western border with Iraq to the capital Tehran and as far east as Mashhad, where the airport was hit.
In Tehran early Monday, Israel said it hit command centres belonging to the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Reza Sayyad, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, said their targets in Israel included "sensitive and important" security sites as well as "the residences of military commanders and scientists".
An Israeli official told AFP that among the sites hit on Sunday was a major oil refinery in the coastal city of Haifa.
Sayyad, in a televised address, vowed a "devastating response" to the Israeli attacks, while the Revolutionary Guards in a statement warned they would hit more "vital targets" in Israel "until its complete destruction".
Residential areas in both countries have suffered, with Israel accusing Iran of deliberately targeting civilians.
- Diplomacy -
The conflict has rapidly escalated despite calls from world leaders to halt the attacks.
China urged Iran and Israel to "immediately" take steps to reduce tensions and "prevent the region from falling into greater turmoil".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Monday that Ankara was ready to play a "facilitating role" to end the conflict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believed "there's a consensus for de-escalation" among Group of Seven leaders, who are meeting in Canada.
US President Donald Trump has urged the foes to "make a deal", but told reporters Sunday that "sometimes they have to fight it out" first.
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was reportedly headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence in the region.
- Nuclear sites -
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Israeli offensive aims to thwart the "existential" threats posed by Iran's nuclear and missile programmes.
The fierce bombing campaign began as Tehran and Washington were engaged in nuclear talks -- which have since been cancelled -- and after warnings from the UN nuclear watchdog over Iran's atomic activities.
Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Monday there was "no indication of a physical attack" on an underground section of Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility, and that radiation levels outside the plant were "at normal levels".
The IAEA previously said that a key, above-ground component of Iran's Natanz nuclear site was destroyed.
Grossi told an extraordinary board meeting of the UN agency that "nuclear safety is being compromised" by the conflict.
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