Iran launched multiple waves of fresh missile barrages at Israel early Saturday, while Israel continued airstrikes on Iran, in the most sustained, direct attacks ever between the two regional rivals. Strikes were reported in Rishon LeZion in central Israel and Tel Aviv, while Iranian media reported explosions in eastern Tehran and in the vicinity of Mehrabad International Airport. The strikes, which began on Friday as Israel launched an attack that killed senior Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, have thrown planned nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, scheduled for Sunday, into doubt.

7:45 AM: Iran casts doubt on Sunday’s talks with U.S. on nuclear deal

It is not clear whether Iranian officials will agree to continue nuclear discussions with the United States, which had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman, following Israel’s attacks which killed a slew of Iran’s senior commanders and nuclear scientists on Friday.

Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, told state-run media on Saturday that it was “still unclear what decision we will make” on Sunday’s talks.

The “other side has emptied the negotiations of their meaning,” he said. “You cannot simultaneously claim to be negotiating and engaging in dialogue to reach an understanding on an issue, while at the same time dividing the work and allowing a racist regime to violate the country’s territorial integrity.”

The U.S. remains interested in conducting talks Sunday with Iran about its nuclear program, a senior administration official told The Washington Post on Friday.

The planned talks had led some analysts to believe that expected Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities would not take place before that date, leading to speculation after the strikes that the talks were kept on the calendar to mislead Tehran.

“This narrative is completely false,” said the senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to respond to the speculation. “We have always wanted peace with Iran. We still do. And we still want to have talks.”

By: Vivian Ho and Adam Taylor

7:13 AM: Tehran reportedly threatens to attack bases of countries that help Israel

Tehran has warned the United States, Britain and France that it will target the military bases and ships of any country that helps repel Iranian attacks against Israel, Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Saturday.

It is not clear whether Iran would in fact take such a step, which would represent a significant escalation. After a year of crippling military and strategic setbacks, including the loss of key allies in Lebanon and Syria, Iran’s options for retaliatory attacks against Israel are limited.

On Friday, Iran accused the U.S. of “complicity” in Israel’s attacks.

By: Victoria Bisset and Susannah George

6:43 AM: Israeli defense minister says ‘Tehran will burn’ if missiles continue

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened that “Tehran will burn” if Iran continues to fire missiles toward Israel.

“The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages, creating a reality in which they — especially the residents of Tehran — will pay a heavy price for the criminal attacks on Israeli civilians,” Katz said in a statement Saturday. “If Khamenei continues firing missiles at Israel’s home front — Tehran will burn.”

The latest fighting marks the most sustained, direct attacks ever between the two regional rivals. They began openly trading blows last year as part of the regional spillover from the war in Gaza, but those attacks were more narrowly calibrated to avoid spiraling into a wider conflict.

Previous Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military sites and hardware, many of them far from major cities, but Friday’s raids included attacks on military leaders at their homes in residential areas, strikes that Ali Larijani, a prominent Iranian politician, described as having “crossed all red lines.”

By: Victoria Bisset and Alon Rom

6:01 AM: Trump pledged peace but is now embroiled in new Israel-Iran conflict

Live updates: Iran attacks Israel with missile barrages; explosions reported in Tehran

President Donald Trump swept into office vowing to end wars around the world, but his efforts to strike a nuclear deal with Iran appear to have spurred Israel to start a new one, as the U.S. military on Friday helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed toward Israeli territory.

A White House envoy has been negotiating for months with Iranian leaders to try to impose limits on their nuclear program over pointed objections from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president declared that a deal with Iran would be preferable to “violence like people haven’t seen before.” But the high-stakes diplomacy always had a clear weakness at its heart: If Israel wanted to derail talks, all it needed to do was attack Iran itself.

By: Michael Birnbaum and Matt Viser

5:41 AM: Analysis from Victoria Bisset, Breaking news, international news

While the exact death toll in Iran is still unclear, the state broadcaster reported Saturday that around 60 people had been killed in an Israeli strike early Friday on a 14-floor residential building in Shahid Chamran town. A television reporter said the toll from local authorities included 20 children, including 10 still buried under the rubble.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations previously said that 78 people were killed and 320 wounded in the Israeli strikes, without providing a breakdown of civilian or military casualties.

5:16 AM: Analysis from Victoria Bisset, Breaking news, international news

Flights at all Iranian airports are suspended until further notice, according to an announcement issued by Iran’s civil aviation body and shared Saturday by Iranian media. Iranian media reported explosions overnight in the vicinity of the Mehrabad International Airport, in the capital.

Smoke rises from Mehrabad airport in Tehran after an Israeli strike, in this screenshot obtained from a social media video released on Saturday.

5:00 AM: Analysis from Dan Lamothe, Covers the U.S. military and Pentagon

Patriot and THAAD missile defense batteries, operated by U.S. military personnel and originally deployed under the Biden administration, participated in Israeli air defense Friday evening, according to U.S. defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. That represented a more limited participation in Israel’s defense than last year, when American air and sea assets helped shoot down incoming Iranian missiles during two retaliatory Iranian attacks.

4:33 AM: Analysis from Victoria Bisset, Breaking news, international news

Iran on Saturday announced the killing of two senior military commanders. A military statement shared by state broadcaster IRIB said Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy head of intelligence for the armed forces general staff, and Mehdi Rabbani, deputy head of operations for the armed forces general staff died following Israel’s “brutal aggression.”

4:20 AM: Analysis from Mohamad El Chamaa

In neighboring Syria, citizens have been warned not to gather on rooftops to monitor developments. On Friday, the remnants of two Iranian missiles fell in the southwestern Syrian province of Daraa, without causing any damage or casualties, state media reported.

3:48 AM: Analysis from Mikhail Klimentov

At least 78 people were killed and 320 injured in Israeli strikes across Iran early Friday, said Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations. It was not immediately clear how many were civilians, versus military personnel.

3:32 AM: Israel hails success of Iran strikes, but strategic aims still elusive

A living room in a residential building that was destroyed by an attack by Israel on Tehran on Friday.

JERUSALEM — As the sun rose over Tehran on Friday, the startling scale of Israel’s surprise attack on Iran became evident: Israeli forces, supported by a covert Mossad operation months in the making, severely damaged the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz, destroyed some of Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and killed half a dozen senior Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists in a flurry of 100 airstrikes.

But even as Israeli officials celebrated their masterstroke at the operational level, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not appear any closer to realizing his strategic goal of a denuclearized Iran, analysts said. Instead, they said, Netanyahu risked pushing the Middle East into a protracted war, further antagonizing Arab neighbors, including some he has courted, and scuttling the chances of President Donald Trump’s ongoing nuclear talks with Iran that Israeli officials have conceded would be necessary to achieve a lasting solution.

By: Gerry Shih and Kareem Fahim

3:16 AM: Analysis from Frances Vinall

Sirens sounded in several areas across northern Israel as Iran launched a fresh round of missiles early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said. Shortly afterward, it issued an all-clear to leave shelters but asked Israelis to remain near them.

3:02 AM: Analysis from Frances Vinall

Explosions were heard in two neighborhoods in eastern Tehran shortly after 4 a.m. local time, reported the country’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The agency shared video of smoke pouring from behind buildings.

2:55 AM: Iran retaliates against Israel with barrage of ballistic missiles

Israel's Iron Dome air-defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv on Friday.

Iran unleashed a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday as it retaliated for the waves of Israeli strikes that killed top military leaders and nuclear scientists, and damaged a key uranium enrichment site.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced the start of the retaliatory attack in a recorded message carried by state television. “We will not allow them to get away with this great crime they committed,” he said. “The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will deal heavy blows to this enemy.”

By: Susannah George

2:54 AM: At least 3 killed in Israel since attacks began

Israeli security forces inspect houses destroyed by an Iranian missile on Saturday in Rishon LeZion, Israel.

At least three people have been killed in Israel during Iranian missile barrages since Friday. Two people were killed in central Israel early Saturday and a woman who was injured in a suburb near Tel Aviv on Friday later died in a hospital, a spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services, said a woman aged about 60 and a man about 45 died after a strike near homes in the coastal plain region early Saturday. MDA found residents trapped under rubble and extensive damage to buildings, it said. Photos from the city, Rishon LeZion, on Saturday morning showed residents inspecting what remained of their homes — collapsed walls, flattened roofs and shattered windows — while others were evacuated from the site.

Israel Fire and Rescue Services said it operated at dozens at sites throughout Israel overnight, responding to burning and collapsed buildings, vehicles on fire and open fires in the northern region, ignited by falling shrapnel.

Israeli strikes on Iran beginning early Friday killed at least 78 people, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said. Senior Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists were among the dead. Iran commenced retaliatory strikes targeting Israel on Friday evening which continued in multiple waves into Saturday morning.

By: Lior Soroka, Frances Vinall, Jintak Han and Alon Rom

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