LIVE UPDATES: Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day

Israeli soldiers dig through rubble to search for survivors in a residential area hit by a missile fired from Iran, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 15, 2025.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The death toll grew Sunday as Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks for a third straight day, with Israel warning that worse is to come.

Israel targeted Iran’s Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran’s nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel.

In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 14. The country’s main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day.

In Iran, the health ministry reported 224 people have been killed since Israel’s attack began Friday. The agency said another 1,277 people were hospitalized and said over 90% of the casualties were civilians.

The region braced for a drawn-out conflict after Israel’s strikes hit nuclear and military facilities, killing several senior generals and top nuclear scientists. President Donald Trump said the U.S. had “nothing to do with the attack on Iran” and warned Tehran to expect “the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces” if it retaliates against the United States.

Here’s the latest:

Iran’s health ministry says 224 killed since Israel’s attack began Friday

Iran’s health ministry says 224 people have been killed since Israel’s attack began Friday.

Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1,277 other people were hospitalized, and asserted that over 90% of the casualties were civilians.

Israel has said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 others wounded.

EU foreign ministers to meet Tuesday by video link

The European Union’s top diplomat will convene an emergency meeting of the 27-nation bloc’s foreign ministers Tuesday to discuss the conflict between Israel and Iran.

The meeting, to be held via video link, “will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, coordination on diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran, and possible next steps,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ office said Sunday.

“We will continue to contribute to all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to find a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue which can only be through a negotiated deal,” it said.

Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader, U.S official says

U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei. After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter.

The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.

Erdogan and Trump discuss the Israel-Iran crisis on the phone, Turkey says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump about the Israel-Iran conflict for the second time in as many days on Sunday, Erdogan’s office said.

The Turkish leader “emphasized that immediate action must be taken to prevent a disaster that could throw the entire region into flames,” according to a statement posted on X. He also welcomed Trump’s statements on ending the attacks and establishing peace.

Erdogan further offered to facilitate diplomatic efforts amid “irreversible economic and civilian damage to both sides.”

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul praises Trump on Israel-Iran conflict

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul praised U.S. President Donald Trump for having shown restraint in the Israel-Iran conflict.

“One of the things I like about President Trump is he has shown restraint,” Paul said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But there’ll be a lot of pressure from Lindsey Graham and others to get involved in this war. And I hope that his instincts will prevail.”

Paul said he disagreed with Graham, who has said it is in the U.S. national security interest to help Israel if Iran does not come to the negotiating table.

Paul said the feeling in Iran is likely the negotiations were “a ruse to put them at ease until the bombing happened. So, I think it’s going to be very hard to come out of this and have a negotiated settlement.”

Israeli strikes in Iran have killed at least 406 people and wounded 654, a rights group says

Israeli strikes in Iran have killed at least 406 people and wounded another 654, a human rights group said Sunday.

The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said its figures covered the entirety of Iran.

Iran’s government has not offered any overall casualty figures from Israeli attacks that have decimated its military leadership and targeted its nuclear sites. Individual officials have offered piecemeal figures.

Human Rights Activists, which also had provided casualty figures during 2022 anti-government protests in Iran, crosschecks local reports in the Islamic Republic against a network of sources it has developed in the country.

So far, its death toll breakdown included at least 197 civilians, 90 members of the military and 119 others it could not identify. The wounded included 100 civilians, 71 troops and 483 others it could not identify.

Israel claims it hit a refueling aircraft in the deepest strike yet inside Iran

Israel’s military claimed attacking an Iranian refueling aircraft in Mashhad in the country’s northeast, saying it was the deepest strike yet inside Iran and the farthest carried out from Israel.

Videos circulated Sunday afternoon of black smoke rising in the city, which is home to the Imam Reza shrine, a site of pilgrimage for Shiites.

The Israeli military said the aircraft flew a distance of 2,300 kilometers (1,430 miles) from Israel.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

G7 leaders meeting in Canada will seek de-escalation, Starmer says

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will work with other G7 leaders at a summit in Canada this week “to encourage de-escalation” between Israel and Iran.

On Sunday, Britain changed its travel advice, telling U.K. nationals not to travel to Israel.

With the crisis due to dominate the G7 summit in Alberta, Starmer spokesman Tom Wells said Britain believes “the only route to peace is through diplomacy.”

Iran’s president criticizes US and Western nations for supporting Israel

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized the United States and some Western countries for supporting Israel’s attacks on Iran.

He said that if Israeli attacks continue, Iran’s responses “will be more decisive and severe.”

Pezeshkian said that Israel “is not capable of any action without the permission of the U.S.” and that “what we are witnessing today is being done with the direct support of Washington.”

In a report carried on state TV, Pezeshkian said that Iran has never sought war and conflict. “However, just as our armed forces, including the powerful army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard, have so far provided appropriate and firm responses, in case of continued hostile actions, the responses will be more decisive and severe.”

Israel doesn’t want regime change in Iran, foreign minister says

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Sunday that the goal of its military campaign in Iran “is not a regime change.”

“This is for the Iranian people to decide,” Sa’ar said in an interview on CNN. He said the Israeli security Cabinet set the objective as eliminating Iran’s nuclear program and minimizing its ballistic missile threat.

“I believe what we are doing, as an ally for the U.S. and for the Western civilization as a whole, is critical for stability in this part of the world,” Sa’ar said, adding: “If we learn something from our history, when somebody says `I’m going to eliminate the Jews,’ take him at his word.”

Sa’ar said Iran was within six months of being able to build as many as nine nuclear bombs.

Iran’s foreign minister was scheduled to also be interviewed on CNN but had to cancel at the last minute, the network said.

Macron calls for de-escalation

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his call for “de-escalation” in the Israel-Iran conflict.

“We continue to call for de-escalation and for talks to resume,” Macron said Sunday in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

Macron spoke with both U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday. He said the issue will be addressed at the meeting of the Group of Seven most industrialized nations this week in Canada, with the aim “to prevent any escalation in Iran’s acquisition of nuclear capability, and to avoid any kind of conflagration in the region.”

Trump says in a post that Iran and Israel `should and will’ make a deal

U.S. President Donald Trump in a social media post Sunday said that Iran and Israel “should make a deal, and will make a deal,” comparing his efforts to agreements that had stopped hostilities between India and Pakistan and in other global hotspots.

“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make, in that case by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and STOP!” Trump wrote.

“Also, during my first term, Serbia and Kosovo were going at it hot and heavy, as they have for many decades, and this long time conflict was ready to break out into WAR. I stopped it (Biden has hurt the longer term prospects with some very stupid decisions, but I will fix it, again!). Another case is Egypt and Ethiopia, and their fight over a massive dam that is having an effect on the magnificent Nile River. There is peace, at least for now, because of my intervention, and it will stay that way! Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”

Smoke is rising over several parts of Tehran

Iran’s Hamshahri Daily, which is affiliated with the Tehran municipality, on its Telegram channel published a video showing a large volume of gray smoke over the Tehran Pars area in the eastern part of the capital.

Iranian state television reported on its Telegram channel that the Tehran Police Command building in the city center sustained minor damage from a drone strike, resulting in minor injuries to several officers.

Images circulating on social media depicted white smoke, with claims that it resulted from an explosion in the Niavaran area of northern Tehran. An Associated Press reporter said that buildings in the vicinity of the explosion were shaken.

U.K. advises against travel to Israel

Britain has updated its guidance to advise against all travel to Israel as tensions escalate in the Middle East.

Israel went from “amber” to “red.” That puts it on the same level as Iran.

Britain on Friday had advised against all but essential travel to Israel, and the advice Sunday reflects a step further.

2 neighbourhoods in Tehran targeted by Israeli airstrikes, media reports say

Iran’s semi-officials Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to the Revolutionary Guard, reported that two areas in Tehran were targeted by Israeli attacks Sunday.

Tasnim said that an explosion occurred in the Vali-e Asr Square area in the capital downtown. Fars reported that an explosion hit the Niroo Havaei neighbourhood, “Air Force” in Farsi, in the east of Tehran. The extent of these explosions has not yet been reported.

The Niroo Havaei neighbourhood is where the headquarters of Iran’s air force is situated.

Earlier, the Israeli military warned personnel to evacuate military weapons production factories in Tehran.

Pakistan denies Iranian media reports that it would send missiles to Iran

A senior Foreign Ministry official from nuclear-armed Pakistan denied Iranian media reports that Pakistan would soon supply Iran with a consignment of some 750 non-nuclear ballistic missiles to aid in the campaign against Israel.

There was no immediate comment about the Iranian media reports from the Pakistani military. The Foreign Ministry official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue.

Pakistan does not disclose details about its missile stockpiles, but it regularly test-fires short, medium and long-range missiles in response to rival India, also a nuclear power.

By Riazat Butt in Islamabad, Pakistan

Egypt’s currency plunges as Israel-Iran conflict escalates

Egypt’s pound and the stock market plunged on Sunday as the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates.

The pound slumped against the U.S. dollar, trading at over 50.60 in banks, down from about 49.8 last week.

Egypt’s EGX 30 Index plunged with all its stocks reported delicate. The benchmark fell over 7.5 per cent at the beginning of the day, but closed with losses at 4.6 per cent.

Explosions shook Tehran on Sunday afternoon

Just before 3:30 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Tehran, four loud explosions shook the capital, likely from new Israeli strikes.

It wasn’t immediately clear what had been targeted.

Iraqi militia warns the United States

The powerful Iran-linked Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah on Sunday warned it will target U.S. interests and bases in the region if Washington intervenes in the hostilities between Israel and Iran.

The group said in a statement that it is “closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy’s military in the region” and “should the United States intervene in the war (between Israel and Iran), we will directly target its interests and bases spread throughout the region without hesitation.”

The statement was the first explicit and direct threat issued by an Iraqi militia to target U.S. forces and interests in the region since the outbreak of the Iran-Israel conflict.

Iraqi militias have previously targeted U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, but have largely remained quiet since Israel launched a barrage of strikes on Iran and Tehran retaliated. Three drones launched at the Ain al Assad base housing U.S. troops in western Iraq on Friday were shot down, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iran lists members of its missile program killed in Israeli strike

Iran said an Israeli strike that killed the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s missile program also took out seven of his trusted deputies, seriously disrupting its command.

Iran previously acknowledged the death of Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guard’s aerospace division in Friday’s strike.

Also killed were Gen. Mahmoud Bagheri, Gen. Davoud Sheikhian, Gen. Mohammad Bagher Taherpour, Gen. Mansour Safarpour, Gen. Masoud Tayyeb, Gen. Khosro Hasani and Gen. Javad Jarsara, the Guard said Sunday.

The Guard did not elaborate on why the men had gathered in one place.

Iran says metro stations and mosques will be bomb shelters

Signaling Iran believed Israel’s strikes would continue, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said metro stations and mosques would be available as bomb shelters for the public beginning Sunday night, Iranian state television reported.

Israeli oil refinery damaged as a result of Iran strike

An Israeli oil refinery firm says an Iranian strike over the weekend caused “localized” damage to its complex in the northern city of Haifa.

Bazan Group said in a report to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that as a result of the strike, pipelines and transmission lines between facilities were damaged. It said the refinery facilities were functional but that some of the downstream facilities had been shut down.

It said no one was wounded.

Iran says it doesn’t seek weapons but insists on ‘nuclear rights’

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reiterated that Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons and is open to an agreement that would ensure that.

“But if the purpose of an agreement is to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, then naturally, we are not prepared to accept such an agreement,” he said in a meeting with diplomats.

Araghchi had planned to attend a sixth round of indirect talks with the U.S. over Iran’s disputed nuclear program before they were called off after Israel’s surprise bombardment of Iran’s military and nuclear sites on Friday.

Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.

Israel warns Iranians to evacuate weapons factories

The Israeli military warned Iranians on Sunday to immediately evacuate “military weapons production factories,” likely signaling that new strikes are planned.

Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the warning on the social platform X in Iran’s Farsi language.

Adraee in the past has signaled other strikes in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Yemen amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

His warning came just after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop.”

Work crews sift through wreckage after Arab Israel city was hit

A bulldozer dug through debris Sunday near a home in the Arab Israeli city of Tamra. The home’s third floor was pancaked and nearby buildings were also damaged. Four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed in the strike.

Wahid Yassin, a neighbour, told Israeli Army Radio the blast was so powerful it nearly ripped off the door of his bomb shelter.

When he emerged, he said he saw the neighbours’ daughter standing on the roof of her damaged home, shaking.

“Her two sisters and her mother were killed in this incident. And suddenly she’s there on the roof, alone, shaking,” he said.

Israel’s airspace stays closed

The Israel Airports Authority said Israel’s airspace remained closed on Sunday and the country’s Ben Gurion International Airport was still closed to landings and takeoffs for the third day.

The authority said it was working with Israeli airlines toward returning Israelis stranded abroad to the country.

“All air crews and aircraft are ready for action as soon as this becomes possible, but this may take a long time, depending on the security situation,” it said.

Israel’s land border crossings to Jordan and Egypt remain open.

Death toll grows in Israel

At least 10 people in Israel were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13.

At least six people, including two children, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing.

An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases.

Four people were killed when a missile struck a building in the northern Israeli town of Tamra, and another 24 were wounded. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42 people.

Explosions in Tehran

New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran’s UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.

Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a “strong explosion” at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant, in what could be the first Israeli attack on Iran’s oil and natural gas industry. Israel’s military did not immediately comment.

World leaders are issuing urgent calls to deescalate.

But Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s strikes so far are “nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.”

Trump warns Tehran not to target U.S.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. had “nothing to do with the attack on Iran” — something Iran’s foreign minister, Araghchi, said he did not believe. “We do not believe this claim. We have evidence that suggests otherwise,” he said.

Trump also warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation.

“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday.

Nuclear talks called off

Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, have been called off.

The Arab Gulf country of Oman, which has been mediating indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place.

Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Saturday that the nuclear talks were “unjustifiable” after Israel’s strikes, which he said were the “result of the direct support by Washington.”

The Associated Press