Israel and Iran exchanged direct missile and drone attacks late Saturday, marking a dangerous escalation in a growing conflict that has already claimed dozens of lives and disrupted hopes for renewed nuclear diplomacy.
The Israeli military said it struck multiple military targets in Tehran in response to a fresh volley of missiles and drones launched from Iran. Several projectiles lit up the night sky over Jerusalem, though no air raid sirens were heard in the city. In Haifa, however, sirens wailed as a missile hit a residential home, killing a woman in her 20s and injuring 13 others, according to emergency services.
Iran said Israel hit the Shahran oil depot in Tehran and caused a fire at the South Pars gas field — the world’s largest — in Bushehr province. Iranian state media confirmed a partial shutdown of gas production, marking the first time Israel has targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure in this conflict.
The tit-for-tat strikes led Tehran to cancel U.S.-backed nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Oman. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused Israel of carrying out “barbaric” attacks that made diplomacy impossible. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier warned Iran of “worse to come,” while still urging it to accept significant nuclear restrictions to stop further Israeli strikes.
Iranian officials reported 78 deaths from Israel’s initial round of attacks on Friday, with dozens more killed Saturday, including 60 when a missile leveled a 14-story apartment building in Tehran. Among the dead were 29 children. Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Friday killed at least three people in Israel.
The South Pars attack raised concerns about global energy markets. Oil prices surged 9% on Friday amid fears of regional supply disruptions, though Israel had initially refrained from hitting Iranian oil and gas sites.
Adding to the tension, Iranian General Esmail Kosari said Tehran was considering closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil shipments.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Iranian public that “what they have seen is nothing compared to what’s coming,” and called on Iranians to rise up against their clerical rulers. He vowed the campaign could last weeks.
Iran warned that foreign bases aiding Israeli missile defense could be targeted. But Iran’s capacity for proxy retaliation appears diminished: Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — its key allies — have been weakened after 20 months of war and cross-border conflict.
Israel maintains its military campaign is aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but the UN nuclear watchdog reported this week that Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation treaty obligations.
In Israel, the human rights group B’Tselem condemned the government’s actions, saying it had chosen war over diplomacy and put the entire region at risk of wider conflagration.