Iranian armed forces unleashed a barrage of strategic missiles and drones on Israel last night, injuring at least 84 people with six in a serious condition.
According to reports, at least 50 ballistic missiles, including those being used for the first time in Operation True Promise III, were spotted in the skies over Israel.
Many buildings belonging to the Israeli regime, including its military and intelligence, were targeted in the latest wave.
In a statement, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said strategic missiles and suicide drones were used in tandem on Thursday, primarily targeting a key command and intelligence centre of the Israeli military near one of the hospitals, making direct impact.
The IRGC further said the Israeli military has evacuated its bases and taken refuge in civilian areas and installed its “ineffective air defence systems and missile launchers to urban areas.”
According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, some 20-30 Iranian missiles targeted Israel’s central cities, including Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Holon, as well as Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba.
The Israeli army, for its part, said that it had targeted the Arak nuclear reactor southwest of Tehran and a nuclear weapons development site in Natanz, southeast of the capital.
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Hostilities began on Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
Meanwhile, in Iran, 585 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports.
In a message on Wednesday, Iranian leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said the Iranian nation will “firmly stand against” an imposed war.
In a televised message, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Iranian nation will never surrender to “any form of imposition.”
In the wake of continued Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, the leader commended the Iranian people for their “composed, courageous, and timely” conduct.
He said the brave response of people reflected the nation’s growing maturity, as well as its spiritual and intellectual strength.
“The Iranian nation will firmly stand against an imposed war, just as it will resolutely resist an imposed peace,” he said. “This is a nation that will never surrender to any form of imposition.”
Referring to the recent war-mongering rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump, Ayatollah Khamenei warned against any American military intervention.
“Those with wisdom, who truly understand Iran, its people, and its long history, never speak to this nation with the language of threats. Iran will not yield,” he asserted.
“The Americans must understand — any U.S. military incursion will undoubtedly lead to irreversible consequences.”
Meanwhile, the death toll in Iran has risen to at least 639 amid ongoing Israeli military strikes, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Thursday.
Since the attacks began in the early hours of June 13, at least 639 people have been killed and 1,329 others wounded, bringing the total number of casualties to 1,968.
HRANA’s report also said at least 10 people were killed in Wednesday’s attacks.
Israeli strikes continued targeting various infrastructures and facilities across 16 provinces, including Zanjan, Fars, Tehran, Isfahan, Hamedan, Alborz, East Azerbaijan, Semnan, Kermanshah, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Ilam, Qom, Bushehr, Gilan, and Qazvin, with Tehran suffering the heaviest damage.
While the organisation’s figures cover the entire country, Iranian authorities have yet to specify how many of the deceased were civilians or military personnel.
In the U.S., a poll conducted by the Washington Post revealed on Thursday that nearly half of Americans oppose U.S. airstrikes against Iran, with only a quarter expressing support.
The survey, which was conducted via text message on Wednesday and received more than 1,000 responses, found that 45% of participants were opposed to U.S. military action, 25% said they would support such a move, and 30% were undecided.
The poll comes amid rising conflict in the Middle East, as Washington weighs its response to recent developments involving the Iran-Israel conflict.
The results point to a significant level of public scepticism toward military escalation, with a 20-point margin separating those in opposition and those in favour.
Two-thirds of Democrats expressed opposition to military action, underscoring a strong anti-war sentiment within the party’s base.
In contrast, 47% of Republican participants said they would support the strikes, while 24% opposed them and 29% remained undecided.
Among those who voted for Trump, 46% back airstrikes on Iran, while 26% are against them and 28% remain undecided.
Roughly one in five Americans believes Iran’s nuclear program poses an “immediate and serious threat” to the U.S., while nearly half see it as a “somewhat serious threat,” and one-third view it as less threatening.
Around four in 10 Americans say they are “very concerned” about the U.S. getting involved in a full-scale war with Iran, while a similar share says they are “somewhat concerned.”
As the conflict between Iran and Israel hits its seventh day, U.S. Senate Republicans are rallying behind President Donald Trump’s apparent wait-and-see approach to potential U.S. involvement – a stance dividing his faithful MAGA base but drawing praise on Capitol Hill.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said he had not yet decided whether to intervene militarily, adding: “I’d make the decision one second before.”
That ambiguity – whether deliberate or coming from Trump’s habit of being sometimes mercurial and impulsive – drew praise from Republican lawmakers, who largely echoed his warnings against allowing Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, according to ABC News.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime defence hawk, backed Trump’s potential use of force if diplomacy fails. “Either you want them to have a nuclear weapon, or you don’t,” he said. “And if you don’t, if diplomacy fails, you use force.”
Sen. John Kennedy, another Republican, framed the threat in stark terms: “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, or the ability to deliver a nuclear warhead, period.” He called his support for Trump on the matter “unconditional.”
Sen. Mike Rounds added that while Israel may be capable of neutralising the threat alone, U.S. military options should remain “available to the president in exercising his authority as the commander-in-chief.”
Even as some grassroots conservatives caution against interventionism, Republican senators like Kevin Cramer appeared untroubled.
“Iran’s made that really crystal clear. They pledged to wipe out the United States of America,” he said. “I prefer preemptive prevention of war rather than having to end one after it gets to our soil.”
Cramer applauded Trump’s “strategic” vagueness, calling it “brilliant.” “It’d be crazy for the president to give a warning … The element of surprise is maintained by an answer that doesn’t tell you what he’s going to do.”
Democrats, however, warned against bypassing constitutional checks, as only Congress can make a declaration of war.
“At some point, the president must come to Congress if there is to be active, kinetic military involvement that constitutes war,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat. “That’s the Constitution.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken Democrat, urged restraint: “We don’t need to escalate in Iran. That doesn’t make anyone in the Middle East safer, and it certainly doesn’t make the United States any safer right now. The role of the United States should be to help de-escalate, to push for negotiations, not to try to set more things afire.”
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar on Thursday issued a security alert temporarily barring its staff from entering Al Udeid Air Base – the largest American military facility in the Middle East, situated in the desert near the capital Doha.
The embassy said on its website that the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution and in light of ongoing regional hostilities” – referring to the Israel-lran conflict, with some expecting the U.S. might enter the fray – urging US citizens in Qatar to adopt similar safety measures.
The alert advised individuals to remain vigilant, avoid large gatherings and demonstrations, and steer clear of areas with heavy police presence.
U.S. citizens were also encouraged to monitor local media, follow local authorities’ instructions, and keep a low profile, especially in locations associated with the United States.
Travellers whose flights may be affected were instructed to contact their airlines directly for updates and rebooking information.
