Iran fires missiles at Israel, kills 10, after attacks on oil sites

By Usaid Siddiqui, Umut Uras and Hafsa Adil

• Iran launches missiles at targets across Israel, including near Haifa and Tel Aviv, killing at least 10 people, according to medics and media reports.

• The attacks came after Israeli forces bombed civilian and energy infrastructure across Iran, igniting a fire at the Shahran oil facility in Tehran. The Israeli military says it targeted sites “related to the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons project”.

• Iranian media say Israeli attacks have killed at least 80 people and wounded 800 others over the past two days. Those killed include 20 children.

• Iran cancels a sixth round of nuclear talks with the United States, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying there is no justification for continuing negotiations in light of Israel’s continued attacks.

• Meanwhile, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 55,297 people and wounded 128,426, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

Tel Aviv shares move higher despite Israel-Iran fighting

Tel Aviv stocks erased morning losses and moved slightly higher in the first trading session since the start of a wave of missile strikes between Israel and Iran.

The blue-chip Tel Aviv 35 index and broader TA-125 index were up 0.1 percent at midday, moving off earlier lows of nearly 2 percent.

Ronen Menachem, chief markets economist at Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, said the market reacted to the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war, as well as significant declines on Wall Street on Friday.

“Trading today and in the coming days will likely depend on developments and assessments regarding the continuation of the conflict — its intensity and duration. The stance adopted by the United States will also be significant,” he said.

Israeli army allegedly attacks nuclear facility in Isfahan

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee says Israeli forces have bombed a nuclear facility in the central Iranian city.

According to the statement, Israel destroyed infrastructure related to uranium production and transformation, accusing the Iranian government of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. There was no immediate response by Iran.

Earlier, Iran’s oil ministry said facilities at a refinery in Isfahan was fully active and operational, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Where has Israel struck today?

• Tohid Asadi

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

This is an unprecedented situation, with many developments coming in.

Today, there have been reports from Isfahan where it was reported that one facility related to the Defence Ministry had been attacked.

We also got reports about attacks in Shiraz and air strikes elsewhere.

In Kermanshah, there are reports that two horse-breeding stables were attacked by Israel. According to the initial report that came from ISNA news agency, 50-60 horses were killed in the Israeli strike.

Overnight, there were attacks by Israel on oil depots in Tehran. Initially, some reports said the oil refinery centre was hit but it turns out that was not true – it was the fuel depot that was attacked. Smoke is still coming out of the scene, with firefighting teams working on that.

Meanwhile, there are strong statements issued from different Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who said earlier today that Iran is going to continue its attacks for as long as Israel continues.

So there is a possibility for de-escalation if the two sides decide to do so, but what we see on the ground is still far from that.

Military says it intercepted drone in southern Israel

The Israeli air force has intercepted a drone that entered the country’s airspace following an alert issued in the Arava region, according to the Israeli military.

The military’s social media post did not specify where the drone was launched from.

‘What is the exit strategy here?’

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat and current columnist with the Independent newspaper, says most Israelis agree with the attack on Iran because of the threat from its nuclear programme.

“Most Israelis have been indoctrinated almost to think Iran is an imminent existential threat, that Iran needs to be dealt with – preferably militarily rather than diplomatically,” Pinkas told Al Jazeera.

“On the one hand, Israelis feel good about what is being done. Also, you have to understand in terms of the national psyche this is sort of a correction compared to the devastation of the October 7, 2023 debacle,” he added.

“All that said, there still is a lack of understanding of what exactly is the endgame here? What is the exit strategy, what is the coherent and attainable political objective? Because you’re not going to bring about regime change from the air.”

Iran says it arrested two Mossad operatives

Iran says it arrested two individuals it accused of being members of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.

The accused were detained in Alborz province while they were preparing explosives and electronic devices, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Caught in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has arrested and executed numerous individuals over alleged links to Mossad, particularly those accused of sabotage and assassination efforts aimed at undermining its nuclear programme.