Tehran/Beyond –Israel launched a widespread offensive against Iran early Sunday, striking key sites including the Iranian Defence Ministry headquarters in Tehran and several facilities allegedly tied to Iran’s nuclear programme, reported the Tehran Times.Simultaneously, Iran retaliated with missile strikes that killed multiple civilians across Israel, as both nations teeter on the brink of full-scale war.
Explosions lit up the skies over Tehran, where flames were seen rising from an oil storage facility, reportedly targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, confirmed the attack on social media, declaring, “Tehran is burning.”
According to Israeli authorities, strikes across Israel left several civilians dead, including a 10-year-old boy and two elderly women in central Israel. In the Galilee region, four residents were killed when a missile hit an apartment building. Meanwhile, the Israeli military claimed it successfully neutralized key Iranian figures and strategic installations, stating that the strikes eliminated three top generals, nine nuclear scientists, and key military infrastructure.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed that their missiles targeted Israeli fuel facilities, though these claims remain unverified by Israeli sources. Iran’s ambassador to the UN revealed that at least 78 people were killed and over 320 injured in the Israeli air raids.
The violence follows Israel’s aggressive effort to dismantle what it perceives as Iran’s advancing nuclear weapons capability, though both US intelligence and the International Atomic Energy Agency maintain that Iran was not actively building a nuclear bomb. Nevertheless, concerns heightened after the UN’s atomic watchdog censured Iran last week for non-compliance.
The attack also derailed scheduled US-Iran nuclear talks, with Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi calling negotiations “unjustifiable” following the strikes. He accused the US of supporting Israel’s aggression, a claim the White House denied, though American ground-based air defense systems reportedly helped intercept Iranian missiles.
In one of the most significant attacks, Israel hit Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and Isfahan uranium conversion site, with satellite images revealing severe damage to buildings. The IAEA confirmed that four critical buildings at Isfahan were destroyed. An Israeli official said restoring these sites would take more than a few weeks, hinting at the long-term impact on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Adding to the tension, unconfirmed reports from Iranian media claimed Israel also struck a natural gas facility in South Pars — a first in terms of targeting Iran’s oil and gas sector.
The international community has urgently called for de-escalation. China’s foreign minister warned that attacks on nuclear sites set a dangerous precedent. Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed continued strikes, saying what Iran has endured so far is “nothing compared to what they will feel.”
As missiles continue to fly and talks collapse, the region remains on edge with the world watching closely for signs of either further confrontation — or a potential pathway to peace.
