ISLAMABAD: Israel carried out a second day of strikes on Iran on Saturday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that the offensive would escalate. In response, Tehran warned that a “heavy” retaliation against Israel was expected within hours.
A day after a surprise Israeli strike killed senior members of Iran’s military leadership, it appeared that Israel had targeted Iran’s oil and gas sector for the first time. Iranian state media reported a fire at a gas field following the attack.
Israel warns of more attacks on Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Israel’s strikes had pushed back Iran’s nuclear programme possibly by years, but rejected international calls for restraint, saying the attack would be intensified.
“We will hit every site and every target in Iran and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days,” he said in a video message.
Air defence activated in Tehran, six other places
Iranian media said air defences were activated Saturday over Tehran and six other provinces, on the second day of Israel’s air campaign against Iran.
News agency Tasnim said air defences were responding to “hostile targets” over Tehran and in the provinces of Hormozgan in the country’s south, Kermanshah and Lorestan in the west, Qom in the centre, East Azerbaijan in the northwest, and Khuzestan in the southwest. State TV reported air defence activity in the same areas.
Israel army claims to strike underground missile facility in Iran
The Israeli military has claimed it struck an underground facility in western Iran’s Khorramabad that contained surface-to-surface and cruise missiles.
“This is an important site that was even featured in a propaganda video by the Iranian regime in the past,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told journalists, referring to footage aired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards earlier this year showing what it described as a new underground missile facility.
Baku will not allow its airspace for strikes on Iran: Azerbaijan’s FM
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov says that Azerbaijan will not allow its territory or airspace to be used for launching attacks against Iran or any other nation.
In a phone call with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday, Bayramov offered his condolences over the deaths of several Iranian military commanders and civilians, expressing solidarity with the Iranian nation.
Baku rejects the use of its land or airspace by any external actor for aggressive purposes, he said.
For his part, Araqchi strongly condemned Israel’s military strikes on Iranian territory and nuclear facilities, describing them as a blatant breach of Iran’s national sovereignty and international law.
The Iranian diplomat called on the international community to denounce Israel’s attacks, particularly targeting of peaceful nuclear infrastructure, which he said crossed all established red lines.
UK moves warplanes to Middle East
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that Britain is deploying fighter jets and other “assets” to the Middle East amid an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
“We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support,” Starmer told reporters travelling with him on his plane to Canada for G7 talks.
The UK leader said he had spoken with both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Israel launched attacks on Iranian military and nuclear sites early Friday.
According to officials, dozens of people have been killed, including top army and Revolutionary Guards commanders as well as civilians. Iran has responded with barrages of drones and missiles fired at Israel overnight Friday into Saturday.
