Assaults by both sides have increased despite international pleas for de-escalation. Sirens sounded in major cities across Israel as Iranians scrambled to get out of Tehran.
Israel launched a fresh wave of attacks on Iran early on Monday, as the most intense fighting between the two countries in decades entered its fourth day, despite international pleas for peace.
The Israeli military explained in a statement early on Monday morning that it was striking missile sites in central Iran, and warned Israelis to stay close to shelters, signaling that a potential Iranian attack was forthcoming.
The attacks followed a day of strikes on multiple locations across Iran and Israel, rattling citizens in both countries, and particularly in Tehran, which Israel bombarded in a rare daytime assault on Sunday afternoon.
The roads leading out of the Iranian capital were packed on Sunday, according to the head of the traffic police, residents and images broadcast on Iranian news media. Residents described long lines forming at gas stations and neighbors with suitcases trying to flag down taxis.
The fighting, which began on Friday with a surprise Israeli attack on Iran, has been some of the fiercest and most prolonged in the decades-long enmity between Israel and Iran, raising fears of a wider war that could draw in the United States and other powers.
Iranians and Israelis have been bracing for further violence, and on Sunday leaders of both countries warned they would escalate their attacks.
President Trump urged Israel and Iran to reach an agreement to end their armed conflict. “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” he wrote Sunday morning in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. Later that evening while speaking to reporters, he reiterated that position, but said, “Sometimes they have to fight it out.” He added, “We’re going to see what happens.”
The path to diplomacy appears limited after officials called off talks set for Sunday between Tehran and Washington on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel says it aims to dismantle with its military campaign.
The Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran, according to the country’s health ministry. Six top Iranian security chiefs were among the dead, and more than 1,400 people have been injured. In Israel, at least 13 people, identified as civilians, have been killed in Iran’s retaliatory barrages since Friday. Now Isreal saysit has identified more missiles launched from Iran and they are currently working to intercept the threat,according to a statement by Isreal Defense Forces.
Pingback: Iran Holds State Funeral for Senior Officials Killed