Update: There are now reports Israel is targeting Iranian oil refineries and shipping, which could further devastate Iran's wobbly economy.
Israel warned of more attacks on Iran on Saturday after Iran's deadly retaliatory strikes on Israel overnight and into the morning. Three people were killed and dozens were wounded in Israel, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear program and its armed forces the previous day.
Israel’s assault on Friday used warplanes, as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran’s U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks.
Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the U.S. government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon before the strikes.
Oman’s foreign minister says planned talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program “will not now take place” after Israel's strikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement on social media Saturday. It comes after Iran’s foreign minister said any talks would be “unjustifiable” amid the ongoing attacks. Oman has been mediating the talks.
“The Iran US talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not now take place,” al-Busaidi wrote. “But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace.”
A sixth round was due to happen in Muscat, Oman’s capital, before the Israeli strikes began Friday.
Iranian media report more Israeli strikes
Footage shared by an affiliate of Iran's state TV showed a fire after an Israeli strike at Zagros Khodro, a former car manufacturing plant in Borujerd.
The state-run IRNA news agency also reported an Israeli strike on Saturday around Abadan in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province. Other strikes appeared to be happening in Kermanshah near a military barracks.
Israel gives first report of wounded soldiers
The Israeli military says seven soldiers were lightly wounded on Friday night in an Iranian missile strike in central Israel.
It says they were briefly hospitalized and sent home. This is the first report of military casualties in the operation. It gave no further details on where the soldiers were located.
Iran’s supreme leader names new head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Gen. Majid Mousavi, to replace Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday.
The Guard’s aerospace division oversees Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles.
Israel's main international airport will stay closed
The airport authority says the it will stay closed until further notice. Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was been closed to traffic since Israel attacked Iran’s military and nuclear facilities on Friday morning and Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes at Israel.
The announcement came as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria said they were reopening their airspaces on Saturday after closing them.
The pope appeals on Israel and Iran to show responsibility and act reasonably
It was one of the strongest appeals for peace since the election in early May of the first American pontiff.
“The situation in Iran and Israel has seriously deteriorated,” Pope Leo XIV said during an audience in St. Peter’s Basilica.
He stressed that “the commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue to build a lasting peace.” Leo also noted that “no one should ever threaten the existence of another.”
Israel’s defense minister says ‘Tehran will burn’ if it continues firing missiles
Defense Minister Israel Katz issued the stark warning after an assessment meeting with the army’s chief of staff.
He says Iran will pay a heavy price for harming Israeli citizens.
