It’s been just over 24 hours since Israel launched a massive two-pronged attack against Iran, aimed at destroying the country’s nuclear sites and decapitating its military leadership in Tehran.
Iran, which vowed a “crushing response” to the attack, launched several waves of deadly strikes against locations across Israel overnight into Saturday, with both sides reporting deaths and multiple injuries.
Sirens sounded in Israel into Saturday morning and explosions were reported in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Tehran, as the escalating conflict risks pulling the Middle East into a wider war.
Here’s what you need to know:
Overnight strikes: Iranian forces launched several waves of missiles toward Israel overnight into Saturday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted Israeli military centers and air bases in missile strikes on Friday. Meanwhile, Tehran’s air defense system was active into early Saturday following another round of Israeli attacks, Iranian state media reported.
Interceptions and damage: The Israeli military claimed that it intercepted some from the latest wave of Iranian missiles, but there are reports of people trapped beneath wreckage of buildings, as well as homes destroyed or damaged. Emergency crews were responding to fallen projectiles. Loud explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Deaths and injuries: Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least two people, Israeli authorities said. One person was killed and more than 20 wounded after an Iranian rocket hit near homes in Rishon Lezion, just south of Tel Aviv. And one woman was killed when a weapon fragment fell in Ramat Gan, also near Tel Aviv. Israel’s envoy to the US earlier said about 40 people had been injured. In Iran, at least 78 people were killed in the Israeli strikes, including senior military officials, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said Friday. More than 320 people were injured, most of them civilians, he added.
Air force bases targeted in Iran: The Israeli military said it struck two Iranian air force bases – used for missile and drone operations – on Friday. They include the Hamadan air base in western Iran the Tabriz air base, a surface-to-surface missile launch site, in the northwest of the country.
Warnings of more to come: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said late Friday that Iran had “crossed red lines” by firing at civilian population centers and vowed it would pay a “very heavy price.” Iran said it would intensify its attacks on Israel and target the regional bases of any country that tries to defend it. Netanyahu warned Iran on Friday that “more is on the way.”
Nuclear talks: A sixth round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran was due to kick off on Sunday. US President Donald Trump told Reuters that Washington’s talks with Iran are still planned, although he isn’t sure they will go ahead. Trump told NBC News that Iran “may have another opportunity” to strike a nuclear deal, and implied that Iranians are reaching out to him.
How we got here: Early Friday, Israel launched a wave of unprecedented strikes on Iran, hitting key sites in the nation’s nuclear program as well as residential areas in the capital Tehran and killing some of the country’s highest-ranking military leaders. Israel had repeatedly pushed for a military option to stop Iran’s nuclear program. It said Friday that Tehran had been advancing a “secret program to assemble a nuclear weapon,” and was closer than ever to being able to obtain one. Iran has repeatedly insisted it isn’t building a bomb and that its nuclear program is for energy purposes.
