Live: Israeli air strikes killed two soldiers, Iranian army says

Iran says two soldiers killed in Israeli strikes

Two soldiers were killed in Saturday morning’s Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the official news agency IRNA reported.

“The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in defending Iran’s security and protecting the people and Iran’s interests, sacrificed two of its fighters while countering projectiles from the criminal Zionist regime,” the statement said.

Hamas condemns in ‘strongest terms’ Israel strikes on Iran

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, at war with Israel in Gaza, on Saturday said it strongly condemned Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran.

“We… condemn in the strongest terms the Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the targeting of military sites in several provinces”, the movement said in a statement, calling the move “a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region”.

UAE condemns military targeting of Iran, urges ‘maximum restraint’

The United Arab Emirates on Saturday condemned the military targeting of Iran and stressed the importance of exercising “maximum restraint” to avoid escalation, after Israel carried out airstrikes on military sites in Iran.

Emirati airline flydubai cancels flights to Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel

Emirati airline flydubai cancelled flights to Jordan, Iran, Iraq and Israel and diverted others on Saturday, a company spokesperson said, shortly after Israel struck military targets in Iran.

British PM Starmer says Iran should not respond to Israeli strikes

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday Iran should not respond to a wave of Israeli strikes, urging restraint on all sides.

“On the question of the strikes, I think we need to be really clear that Israel does have the right to defend itself, but we are urging, and have been urging all sides to show restraint, and that is why I am very clear today, Iran should not be responding to this,” he said in Samoa, where he is attending a Commonwealth summit.

Israel army says intercepts drone crossing into Israel from Lebanon

The Israeli military said it intercepted a drone crossing into Israel from Lebanon on Saturday, hours after Israel struck several military targets inside Iran.

“Following the sirens that sounded between 08:39 (05:39 GMT) and 08:41 in the Upper Galilee area, the IAF (air force) intercepted a UAV that crossed into Israel from Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.

Israeli strikes hit ‘densely populated area’ in Tehran

Israel’s overnight air strike on Iran hit a “densely populated area” in south west Tehran and a sensitive nuclear site outside the capital says FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Tehran, Saeed Azimi.

Details of the overnight attack are still emerging. “We have no knowledge of what Israel used. Israel said five fighter jets were involved, but we didn’t see any fighter jets in the skies,” Azimi added.

Saudi Arabia condemns military targeting of Iran as ‘violation of its sovereignty’, state news agency says

Saudi Arabia on Saturday condemned the military targeting of Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and calling on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.

Iran to resume flights after Israeli attack, says aviation authority

Iran announced on Saturday the resumption of flights after a brief suspension following an Israeli attack that targeted several military sites in the country. 

“Flights will return to normal from 9am (05:30 GMT) on Saturday,” the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organisation said, according to the official IRNA news agency. 

Israel says it has ‘wider freedom’ in air over Iran after strikes

The Israeli military said its strikes targeting Iran’s air defences on Saturday had given it more freedom to operate in skies over Iran.

“Now, the state of Israel has wider freedom of action in the air over Iran as well,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing.

Israeli response targeted and proportional, US official says

Israel’s strikes on military sites in Iran appear to have been a targeted and proportional response to Tehran’s earlier attacks, with low risk of civilian harm, a senior Biden administration official said late on Friday.

This should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries, the official said, adding that the US has multiple direct and indirect channels of communication with Iran where it has made its position clear.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” said US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett.

Israel army warns Iran will ‘pay heavy price’ if it begins new round of escalation

The Israeli military warned Iran on Saturday that the Islamic republic would “pay a heavy price” if it began a new round of escalation after Israel carried out air strikes in Iran.

“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond. Our message is clear: All those who threaten the State of Israel and seek to drag the region into a wider escalation will pay a heavy price,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.

Iran says Israeli strikes targeted military bases in three provinces, causing ‘limited damage’

Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli strikes on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage”.

The statement from Iran’s armed forces was read aloud on state television, which showed no images of the damage described. Iran’s military claimed its air defences limited the damage done by the strikes, without providing additional evidence.

Israel army says struck Iran’s missile manufacturing facilities

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had completed its air attack on Iran, saying it hit the Islamic republic’s missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and other aerial capabilities across several areas of the country.

“Based on intelligence, IAF (air force) aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year,” the military said in a statement. 

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