On Thursday, Israel targeted nuclear sites in Iran with bombings, while overnight, Iranian missiles struck an Israeli hospital, marking an escalation in the air conflict that has persisted for a week, with no indication of a potential resolution.
Russia has urged Israel to promptly cease its airstrikes on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility, referencing the presence of Russian specialists at the location, as reported.
This action followed reports of Israel targeting nuclear sites in Bushehr, Isfahan, and Natanz, with ongoing strikes on additional facilities. However, an official later retracted the reference to Bushehr, indicating it was an error to include the facility among the confirmed targets.
Moscow also issued its warning after a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which they condemned the Israeli assaults on Iran and advocated for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Last week, Israel initiated an unprecedented series of strikes against Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks.
The IDF spokesperson confirmed that strikes had occurred on nuclear-related facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Arak, but refrained from confirming or denying any actions against Bushehr, which contains Iran’s sole operational nuclear reactor.
In the aftermath of the strike that damaged the Soroka hospital in Beersheba, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Tehran’s “tyrants” would face the “full price” for their actions.
Defence Minister Israel Katz remarked that the military had been directed to escalate strikes on strategically significant targets in Tehran to neutralize the threat to Israel and destabilize the “Ayatollah regime”.
Netanyahu has asserted that Israel’s military operations could lead to the overthrow of Iran’s leadership, emphasizing that Israel would take all necessary measures to eliminate the “existential threat” posed by Tehran.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has left the international community uncertain about whether Israel’s superpower ally would participate in airstrikes alongside it.
On Thursday, Israel announced it had targeted Iran’s Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. A military spokesperson initially claimed that Bushehr, the site of Iran’s only operational nuclear power plant, had also been struck, but a spokesperson later clarified that this was not the case.
Previously, Israel announced that it had targeted another nuclear facility near Arak overnight, where Iran was in the process of constructing a heavy-water reactor.
Trump has shifted from advocating for a rapid diplomatic resolution to the conflict to implying that the United States may become involved. On Wednesday, he stated that no one can predict his actions. The day before, he speculated on social media about the possibility of assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, subsequently demanding Iran’s unconditional capitulation.
A week of Israeli air and missile assaults against its primary adversary has decimated the upper ranks of Iran’s military leadership, impaired its nuclear capabilities, and resulted in the deaths of hundreds, while Iranian counterstrikes have claimed the lives of at least two dozen civilians in Israel.
