Key Takeaways
- The Iran Israel conflict has escalated, with both sides launching reciprocal attacks, and 78 people killed in Iran.
- Iran has refused talks with the US, citing US support for Israeli attacks on Iranian territory.
- The US has warned Iran against retaliating against American bases in the region, while trying to distance itself from Israel’s attacks.
Tehran/Jerusalem: Iran has said any kind of dialogue is “meaningless” at the moment, blaming Israel for targeting Iranian territory. Speaking to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei accused the US of supporting Israel’s assault on Iran, saying the attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission.
“The other side acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless,” Baqaei said of talks the US has held with Tehran in recent months to curb its nuclear programme.
“You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time, divide work by allowing the Zionist regime [Israel] to target Iran’s territory,” he added.
Iranian missiles targeted sites across Israel, injuring at least 40 people, in retaliation for ongoing Israeli attacks on Iran, media reports said.
Iran says Israel has killed 78 people, including senior military officials, and wounded more than 320 people in Iran, as the Israeli military continues to launch strikes on cities, military sites and nuclear facilities, Al Jajeera reported.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” following the “crime” of attacking Iran and killing several top-level military commanders and six nuclear scientists.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military operation will continue as long as necessary.
The United States has tried to distance itself from Israel’s onslaught while warning Iran against attacking American bases in the region.
Senior Hamas leader Izzat al-Risheq has praised Iran’s successful targeting of sites “despite all the hype about the Iron Dome, and David’s Sling missile defence systems”.
In the statement, shared by local Palestinian news sites, al-Risheq said Israel’s sophisticated defences had failed and the country would “suffer from a fire it has long ignited among the peoples of the region”.
US ambassador to Israel says had a ‘rough’ night amid strikes. Mike Huckabee says he had to go to shelters five times overnight amid Iran’s missile barrage.
“It’s now Shabbat here. Should be quiet. Probably won’t be. “Entire nation under orders to stay near shelter,” the US ambassador to Israel posted on X.
