Israel and Iran traded new attacks early today, as the most intense fighting between the two countries in decades entered its fourth day, with international pleas for de-escalation falling on deaf ears.
The Israeli military said in a statement early Monday that it was striking missile sites in central Iran, and warned Israelis to stay close to shelters. A few hours later, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel and the military said that Iran had launched a salvo of missiles.
Israeli police said that two communities in the Tel Aviv district had reported being hit, and the municipality of the nearby central Israeli city of Petah Tikva also reported a hit.
The attacks followed a day of strikes on multiple locations across Iran and Israel, rattling citizens in both countries, and particularly in Tehran, which Israel bombarded in a rare daytime assault Sunday afternoon.
The roads leading out of the Iranian capital were packed Sunday, according to the head of the traffic police, residents and images broadcast on Iranian news media. Residents described long lines forming at gas stations and neighbors with suitcases trying to flag down taxis.
The fighting, which began Friday with a surprise Israeli attack on Iran, has been some of the fiercest and most prolonged in the decades-long enmity between Israel and Iran, raising fears of a wider war that could draw in the United States and other powers.
Iranians and Israelis have been bracing for further violence, and on Sunday leaders of both countries warned they would escalate their attacks.
President Donald Trump urged Israel and Iran to reach an agreement to end their armed conflict. “Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” he wrote Sunday morning in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. Later that evening while speaking to reporters, he reiterated that position, but said, “Sometimes they have to fight it out.” He added, “We’re going to see what happens.”
The path to diplomacy appears limited after officials called off talks set for Sunday between Tehran and Washington on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel says it aims to dismantle with its military campaign.
The Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran, according to the country’s Health Ministry. Six top Iranian security chiefs were among the dead, and more than 1,400 people have been injured. In Israel, at least 13 people, identified as civilians, have been killed in Iran’s retaliatory barrages since Friday.
Israeli capabilities
The Israeli military’s chief spokesperson said its forces had achieved “freedom of action” in the skies over Tehran, but some of Iran’s air defense systems remained intact, according to an Israeli military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. On Sunday, Israel destroyed an Iranian refueling plane at an Iranian airport 1,400 miles from Israel, an indication of how deep into Iranian territory Israel is capable of striking.
Life on hold
Some Iranians were bracing themselves for a longer conflict as the strikes continued Sunday. Israel and Iran have traded fire before in recent years, but the attacks have been limited. As Israel’s offensive expanded over the weekend to include strikes on Iran’s energy industry, there was a sense in Tehran that this time felt different, some residents said.
Canceled discussions
Talks between the United States and Iran on the future of Iran’s nuclear program that were scheduled to resume Sunday in Oman were canceled. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told foreign diplomats in Tehran on Sunday that his country is “prepared for any agreement aimed at ensuring Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons,” but aims to maintain the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
Damage in Israel
Israel has some of the world’s most-sophisticated air defenses. But the ballistic missile fire from heavily armed Iran is both harder for Israel to intercept and more dangerous when it manages to evade the country’s defenses. On Sunday, Israelis were mourning those killed in Iran’s overnight strikes and assessing the damage across the country.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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