Iran-Israel crisis: three days of strikes as global appeals for restraint continue

Israel and Iran traded fire for a third straight day on Sunday, with rising casualties and expanding targets marking an escalation in the conflict between the longtime adversaries.

Overnight Iranian strikes killed at least 10 people in Israel, adding to the growing toll in both countries since Friday when Israel launched a massive wave of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities but also hitting residential areas, sparking retaliation.

The exchange of strikes is the first time the countries have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a prolonged conflict that could engulf the Middle East, even as international leaders urge de-escalation.

• Cycle of retaliation widens: Israel's operation Rising Lion has hit nuclear, military and energy assets deep inside Iran; Tehran has answered with waves of ballistic-missile and drone fire that reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

• Death toll rising: Dozens have been killed inside Iran and 13 in Israel since Friday; More are missing beneath rubble in Bat Yam and Tamra.   

• Nuclear talks collapse: A sixth round of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Oman was scrapped after the strikes, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying Tehran "will not negotiate under bombardment."

• IAEA damage report: Inspectors say four critical buildings at Isfahan were hit, but no radiation spike has been detected; Natanz's above-ground power-supply structures were destroyed.

• Markets on edge: Brent crude jumped 7% to settle at $74.23, its biggest one-day gain in three years, while European stocks slid and airlines rerouted away from the Gulf.   

• Diplomatic scramble: China, Russia and the EU have all urged an immediate ceasefire; Berlin, Paris and London offered "immediate talks" with Iran to rescue diplomacy.   

• Regional spill-over: Yemen's Houthi movement fired missiles toward central Israel in "coordination" with Tehran, widening a conflict already feeding unrest in Gaza and Lebanon.

Expanding targets

After targeting Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as killing top commanders and scientists, Israel expanded targets to oil infrastructure and government buildings.

Israeli strikes hit two fuel depots in Tehran on Sunday, with AFP journalists reporting fire at a depot in Shahran, northwest of the Iranian capital.

The Israeli military said Sunday its forces struck more than 80 targets in Tehran overnight.

The day before, Israel's military said it was attacking dozens of missile launchers in Iran after announcing it had targeted air defences with a wave of strikes in the Tehran area.

Iranian media on Sunday reported Israeli strikes had targeted the defence ministry headquarters in Tehran as well as a facility affiliated with the ministry in the central city of Isfahan.

Iran also sent waves of ballistic-missile and drone fire that reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in an attack which claimed the lives of at least four people. 

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran does not want its conflict with Israel to expand to neighbouring countries unless the situation is forced adding its response had been based on self-defence.

Araqchi said Tehran had been responding to foreign aggression, and that if this aggression stopped, Iranian reactions would also cease.

The foreign minister said the Israeli strikes on the offshore South Pars gas field Iran shares with Qatar were "a blatant aggression and a very dangerous act".

"Dragging the conflict to the Persian Gulf is a strategic mistake, and its aim is to drag the war beyond Iranian territory," he said.

Nuclear diplomacy 

The fierce exchanges of fire came amid talks between Tehran and Washington seeking to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear programme. Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it denies.

Oman confirmed that Sunday's planned sixth round of indirect U.S.-Iran talks was "postponed until further notice." Washington says the door remains open, but Tehran has frozen all technical cooperation beyond minimum safeguards and told the International Atomic Energy Agency it will cease reporting certain protective measures around nuclear material.   

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi briefed the UN Security Council on Friday, warning that strikes near nuclear facilities "risk grave regional consequences." Satellite imagery shows structural damage at Isfahan's uranium-conversion plant and Natanz's external power complex; however, sensors record no off-site radiation so far.   

International fall out 

Brent crude's leap past $74/bbl revived speculation about a push to $100 if the Strait of Hormuz - an artery for a fifth of world oil - becomes a battlefield. European natural gas futures climbed 6%, and Frankfurt's DAX shed 1.8% in early trading.   

Aviation insurers noted more than 3,000 flight cancellations or diversions after Iran and Iraq closed chunks of airspace, with carriers such as Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways re-routing via the Caucasus and Mediterranean.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart that unilateral strikes were "unacceptable" during "ongoing diplomatic efforts," pledging Beijing's readiness to mediate.

The Kremlin labelled Israel's action "unprovoked" and said President Putin urged a return to negotiations in calls with regional leaders.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the conflict "can be easily ended" and threatening retaliation on Iran with "levels never seen before" if U.S. forces are attacked.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the bombardment of nuclear sites and appealed for a cease-fire, while Security Council members debated duelling draft resolutions from Iran and Israel.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas called the escalation "a direct threat to European energy security" and urged both sides to "step back from the brink," echoing a three-way leaders' call from Berlin, Paris and London.