Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes, with explosions heard in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Tehran.
Iranian missiles targeted sites across Israel, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, in retaliation for ongoing Israeli attacks on Iran. The Israeli military has said that seven Israeli soldiers were injured as a result of an Iranian missile launched overnight. According to media reports, Hospitals across Israel have been scrambling to move their patients to secure, underground areas to protect them from potential strikes. Medics have been relocating patients underground at a medical centre on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, as it braces for any further retaliatory Iranian strikes.
On the other hand, the Iranian official media claimed that the Iranian Army’s air defenses shot down two Israeli F-35 fighter jets that had intruded into the country’s airspace. However, Israel denies the claim.
Two deputy commanders of the Iranian Armed Forces’ General Staff were killed in Israeli attacks, Iranian state media reported. The deceased were identified as General Gholamreza Mehrabi and General Mehdi Rabbani.
However, it was unclear when exactly the two commanders were killed. Three more Iranian nuclear scientists have also been declared killed in Israeli attacks. Six other nuclear scientists were reported by Iran to have been killed in strikes by Israel yesterday. Israel’s attacks on Iran since yesterday have killed at least 78 people, including senior military officials. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it used hundreds of munitions to strike 150 targets in Iran overnight, claiming that the Israeli attacks have set back the Iranian nuclear program. The IDF said that its air strikes on Iran killed more than 20 Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards commanders, including armed forces chief Mohammad Bagheri.
Iran’s Airports and Air Navigation Company has announced the suspension of all flights nationwide until further notice. Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport is also closed.
In a related development, Iran has warned the United States, United Kingdom, and France not to help Israel stop Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.
According to Iranian state media, Tehran will target military bases and ships located in the region if the three countries provide support to Israel.
Iran has also pulled out of the negotiations between Washington and Tehran on nuclear issue. Iran said the dialogue with the U.S. over Tehran’s nuclear programme is meaningless after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike. As per the media repors, Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that negotiations and allowing Israel to target Iran’s territory can not go at the same time. Iran earlier accused the U.S. of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation.
