Iranian missiles rained down on Israel overnight, into the early hours of Sunday morning, as the conflict between the Middle Eastern countries took another grave turn. At the same time, Israel continued its military operation against Iran, completing an “extensive series of strikes on targets in Tehran related to the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons project.” The high-stakes targets included the Iranian Ministry of Defense Headquarters and the main base of the “SPND nuclear project,” locations which Israeli authorities said advanced Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weaponry and served as a place where the country “hid its nuclear archive.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]In the midst of the explosive scenes in the Middle East, U.S. President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to issue a stark warning to Iran, with whom the U.S. has, until the recent flare-up of this conflict, been engaged in talks with regarding a potential nuclear deal.
Much like the U.S. did after Israel’s initial attack on Iran’s nuclear hub, Trump used the public platform to state that the U.S. had “nothing to do with” the overnight attack on Iran. He once more warned Iran not to target the U.S. as part of its retaliation.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape, or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict,” he said.
Trump had aired his grievances with the lack of completion regarding the Iran-U.S. nuclear talks earlier in the week, in response to Israel’s initial launch of its military operation against Iran. “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done,” Trump said. “Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse.”
Read More: Netanyahu Says Israel ‘Will Strike Every Site of the Ayatollah’s Regime’
Officials from Iran and the U.S. were set to meet in Oman’s capital of Muscat on Sunday for the next round of nuclear talks. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Saturday afternoon that, in light of the Israel-Iran active conflict, those talks would no longer be going ahead. This came after state television reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called nuclear talks with the U.S. “meaningless.”
Despite Trump’s eagerness to secure a nuclear deal swiftly, it remains to be seen if and how those talks will get back on track, especially as there seems to be no end in sight for this most recent flare-up in the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the strikes from his military, part of Operation Rising Lion, “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Israeli residential areas were hit hard overnight into Sunday morning. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a public statement as sirens called out across the country, saying that “millions of Israelis are currently running for shelter.”
As deadly missiles showered over civilians’ heads, both countries have reported respective casualties. After the overnight combat, the Israeli death toll has now risen to at least 13, including three minors, according to officials in the country. Meanwhile, per the Iranian authorities, at least 75 people have been killed in Iran. Dozens more have been injured.
Ahead of the latest exchange of missiles, Netanyahu hinted at what was to come in a video address. “We have paved a path to Tehran. In the very near future, you will see Israeli planes, the Israeli Air Force, our pilots, over the skies of Tehran,” he said, going on to warn that Israel “will strike every site and every target of the Ayatollah’s regime.”
Hours before, on Saturday morning, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened dire consequences if Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei didn’t retreat. “If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Katz said, after a meeting with Israeli military leaders.
As Israel unleashed its next series of strikes against Iran overnight, Katz said: “Tehran is burning.”
Read More: Israel Gets the War It Wanted
On Sunday afternoon, local time, Katz delivered another update, reaffirming that Israel’s course of military action is far from over. “I instructed the IDF to issue evacuation notices to residents in Tehran living near weapons production complexes,” he said. “The Iranian dictator is turning Tehran into Beirut and the residents of Tehran into hostages for the survival of his regime.”
Katz doubled down, adding: “The IDF continues to peel the skin of the Iranian snake with great force, from nuclear weapons to Tehran and everywhere else.”
Meanwhile, according to state media in Iran, the country’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned of a “more severe” response if Israel continues its operation.
“The continuation of Zionist [Israeli] aggression will be met with a more severe and powerful response from the Iranian armed forces,” Pezeshkian is quoted as saying on Saturday, reportedly during a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Amid the prolonged trade of deadly missiles between Israel and Iran, and with no immediate end in sight, there’s rising concern that the conflict could spiral even further, directly involving other countries—an outcome that Trump and his fellow world leaders are likely desperate to avoid.
