Continuing the war of words, Iran’s President Pezeshkian said that any further attacks on Israel will be “more decisive and severe”.
Pezeshkian added that Iran’s military has so far responded “strongly and appropriately”, state media in Tehran reported.
The hardline national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also visited Bat Yam on Sunday and said Israel was “at peace” with the price paid by Iran’s attacks.
“We are at peace with this … and God willing, the State of Israel will win,” he said, and claimed Israel was “obligated” to attack Iran.
“We worked on the campaign against Iran for a very long time. It was clear to all of us that an Iranian nuclear weapon is the most serious thing that could happen and therefore we took into account what could happen if there were an Iranian nuclear weapon,” he added.
Last week, Ben-Gvir was sanctioned by the British government for “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities”.
Social media star in Israel calls on UK government for repatriation flight
A social media star from north London has been in central Tel Aviv since June 4 for a holiday and work trip and said the escalating attacks from Iran were “really frightening”.
Zach Margolin, 31, has booked himself three flights on June 18, 19 and 20 to give himself the best chance of getting home for his sister’s wedding next weekend.
“It’s really frightening. Last night was the most I’ve seen or felt,” he said. “We could hear enormous explosions, we could hear the Iron Dome flying up and then the building is shaking. It’s proper explosions.”
On Friday night, he rushed from his central Tel Aviv Airbnb at 10pm, 1am and 5am as sirens signalled missiles were headed towards the city.
“You’d be crazy not to be afraid. I’ve been to Israel many times during sirens, and usual protocol is you go in the shelter, wait ten minutes and then go out, but this is a different beast,” he said. “It’s not one missile from Yemen, or rockets from Gaza — it’s hundreds of ballistic missiles coming from Iran.”
He added: “Ideally the UK government should be putting on a repatriation flight. The only update [from the Foreign Office] is don’t go to Israel.”
Netanyahu: ‘Iran will pay a heavy price for murder’
Binyamin Netanyahu has said that Iran will pay “a very heavy price” for killing Israeli civilians, in the first reported remarks during his visit to Bat Yam.
The prime minister visited Bat Yam
“Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,” Netanyahu said during his visit.
At least six people were killed during the Iranian attack, including a child. Israeli media said another three people were missing.
British grandfather stranded in Jerusalem
A British grandfather stranded in Jerusalem said he is weighing up a bus escape through the Negev desert to flee Iranian missile fire.
James Eden, 72, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, flew to Israel last Monday for a six-day Christian pilgrimage.
But now he is trapped in a near-deserted city with missiles flying overhead and outbound flights suspended.
Eden said that although the Foreign Office had called him, he was told “there wasn’t a lot they could do”.
He said: “They can’t put on any planes because the airspace is shut — all they can do is send out alerts and keep track of us.”
When he asked about crossing the border, officials told him he could travel to Egypt at his own risk, “but they’re not going to help me get out of Egypt either”.
A FCDO spokesperson said: “We’re in contact with a British man in Israel.”
‘Strict eye’ must be kept on Iranian threat to UK
Lord Hogan-Howe, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner, said a “strict eye” must be kept on the Iranian threat to the UK.
The Times Radio presenter Adam Boulton asked him if Britons should fear Iranian terrorist activity in this country.
He replied: “I think there’s certainly evidence that this country (already) has been targeted.
“I think the question now is, are there going to be state-backed plans to attack this country rather than just people in this country?
“So I think… all the security services and the police are going to have to be aware of that.
“If there’s not a negotiated end [to the conflict] and this runs on for years, as we’ve already had problems in the Middle East, you’re going to have to keep a very strict eye on what the Iranian state might be thinking about in the UK.”
Netanyahu visits areas destroyed by strikes
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has toured areas of Bat Yam that were destroyed in overnight strikes by Iranian missiles.
Although there was no statement from the Israeli leader, footage showed him inspecting the ruins of an apartment building in the city. Six residents of the building died in the attack.
Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, was also present, according to The Times of Israel website.
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“Dozens of homes in this area were completely damaged by a single missile launched from Iran in a cruel and terrible missile attack that was launched across the entire country,” Herzog said.
He added: “This is a very significant moment in the history of Israel. We must show the emotional and mental resilience that we always have.”
Israel targeted ‘more than 80 positions in Tehran’ overnight
Israel’s military has said its air force targeted “more than 80” positions in Iran’s capital Tehran overnight.
The strikes were conducted “throughout the night”, the military said in a statement, and “targeted more than 80 objectives, including the headquarters of the Iranian Ministry of Defence, the headquarters of the nuclear project (SPND), and additional targets where the Iranian regime hid the nuclear archive”.
Iranians prepare to shelter overnight
Iranians will be able seek shelter in mosques and schools during any Israeli attacks, as well as subway systems, which will be open at all times from tonight, a government spokesperson, Fatemeh Mohajerani, told state TV .
“There is no problem with the provision of food, medicine, fuel,” she added.
Iran’s nuclear programme is a threat to EU security, says French minister
Iran’s nuclear programme is a threat to the security of Israel and Europe, France’s foreign minister has claimed, saying diplomacy was the only way to avoid an escalation in the conflict.
“The Iranian nuclear programme is an existential threat for the security of Israel and beyond the security of Europe. We always said the best way to prevent that threat, to contain it, remains diplomacy,” Jean-Noel Barrot told RTL radio.
Germany, France and Britain are ready to hold immediate talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme in an effort to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, Johann Wadephul, the German foreign minister, said.
On Sunday morning Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Tzipi Hotovely, told the BBC that Europe “owes a huge thank you” to Israel for the strikes.
Reports of more explosions in Tehran
Fresh explosions have been heard in Tehran, the AFP news agency is reporting.
At the same time, the Iranian news outlets Khabar Online and Ham Mihan reported that air defence systems over the west and northwest of the Iranian capital had been activated “to counter new attacks”, while Shargh daily shared a video of columns of smoke in the city’s east.
Foreign office advises against all travel to Israel
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has updated its guidance to advise against all travel to Israel amid the conflict with Iran.
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies oncePresident of Cyprus set to speak with Netanyahu
Iran has asked Cyprus to convey “some messages” to Israel, President Christodoulides has said, adding that he expected to speak to Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, later in the day.
Christodoulides said he was not happy with what he described as a slow reaction by the European Union to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.
Cyprus is the closest EU member state to the growing conflict and has asked for an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
Minister declines to rule out repatriation flights from Israel
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has not ruled out repatriation flights from Israel.
The Times Radio presenter Adam Boulton asked Rachel Reeves’s number two whether there would be repatriation flights, and whether the government would change its advice on travel to Israel.
Jones replied: “It’s for the Foreign Office to confirm the travel advice in the normal way.
“It’s not appropriate for us to speculate about Foreign Office travel advice, because it has real-world implications for people who may or may not be travelling in terms of their tickets with airlines and hotel bookings.”
Boulton asked him: “Would you organise flights to get people out? Because obviously there’s problems with the airspace.”
Jones responded: “Again, that would be something for the Foreign Office to answer in due course.”
Travel advice a blow to Israel’s tourism
By Tom Witherow
The Foreign Office advice for Britons not to travel to Israel will be significant for many people.
Britain was in the top three nations to visit Israel last year with 80,000 tourists, meaning the UK was behind only France and the USA.
Last month, when Jews celebrated Passover, the number of Britons heading to Israel more than doubled to 14,700 compared with the same month in 2024.
But any hope that tourist numbers from the UK were recovering will now be dashed.
Israel’s tourism industry has already been decimated by the war, with the number of tourists falling from a pre-Covid high of 4.9 million in 2019 to 1 million in 2024.
‘There’s nothing left’: residents of Bat Yam in shock
Israelis living in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv spoke of their shock after their homes were destroyed in an Iranian missile strike.
“There’s nothing left. No house. That’s it,” Yivgenya Dudka told the AFP news agency.
Shahar Ben Zion said he had been reluctant to go down into the bomb shelter but was persuaded by his mother. “There was an explosion and I thought the whole house had collapsed,” he said. “Thank God, it was a miracle we survived.”
Buildings were razed by an Iranian missile in the Israeli city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv
JACK GUEZ/AFP
Julia Zilbergoltz told AFP she was woken by the explosion having slept through the warning siren early on Sunday morning. “”I’m stressed and in shock. I’ve been through hard times in my life but I’ve never been in a situation like this,” she said as she left with her belongings.
Iran arrests two people over ‘links to Mossad’
Iran says it has arrested two people over alleged links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, claiming they were preparing explosives and electronic devices.
“Two members of the Mossad terrorist team who were making bombs, explosives, booby traps and electronic equipment were arrested” in Alborz province, west of Tehran, the Tasnim news agency reported.
Overnight bombing in pictures
Buildings in Rehovot, central Israel, were reduced to fire and rubble
YOSSI ZELIGER/REUTERS
Streaks of light from Iranian ballistic missiles are seen in the night sky above Hebron, West Bank
WISAM HASHLAMOUN/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES
The Iranian Red Crescent described this as the result of an Israeli strike outside Tehran
Reeves: This could fuel inflation
Rachel Reeves spoke to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC
JEFF OVERS/BBC
Rachel Reeves has warned that the conflict between Israel and Iran could lead to higher levels of inflation.
The chancellor said that “what happens in the Middle East affects us here at home” as she pointed to the fact that oil prices had risen by 10 per cent.
She also highlighted concerns that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
She said: “We are very concerned about the developments in the Middle East because of the implications here at home but also in the Middle East.”
Britain to advise against all Israeli travel
By Steven Swinford, Political Editor
Britain is poised to advise against all travel to Israel amid concerns about the escalating conflict with Iran.
The government will update its travel guidance from “amber” to “red”, putting Israel on the same footing as Iran.
On Friday the UK advised against all but “essential” travel to Israel. It is now going a step further and advising against all travel entirely.
There are thousands of British citizens in Israel and ministers are drawing up contingency plans to evacuate them. However, they are unlikely to be carried out quickly because Israeli airspace is closed and there are no land routes out of the country.
Tel Aviv is not used to this sort of destruction
By Gabrielle Weiniger, reporting from the city
Six people are known to have died in Iran’s strike on Bat Yam
JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
You can tell that people are seeking a semblance of normality by the number of coffee shops that are open, more than in the past two days. Some adventurers are even playing volleyball or swimming in the sea — but there is no doubt that Tel Aviv is quieter and more sombre than in recent memory.
Israelis are horrified by the climbing toll from an Iranian strike in Bat Yam, an outer suburb of the city. The extent of the destruction is not something people are used to here.
Some locals have turned off the news — a background hum for many homes in the country — because they could not bear to witness the carnage as rescue workers try to recover people stuck beneath the rubble.
The mayor of Bat Yam said at least 20 people were unaccounted for after Saturday night’s strike, which is confirmed to have killed six people and injured 180 more.
Flights to and from Israel have been grounded for a third consecutive day during the exchange of strikes with Iran.
The effect of the airspace closure on Friday was mapped by the tracking site Flightradar24.
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceEurope should thank us, says Israeli envoy
Tzipi Hotovely arrives at the BBC for her Sunday-morning interview
JAMES MANNING/PA
Iran was posing an “imminent threat” before the strikes on its nuclear weapons program, Israel’s ambassador to Britain has said.
Tzipi Hotovely told Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC: “They were racing fast to get nuclear bombs with the combination of enrichment and weaponisation. We had to move fast to operate against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
She said Europe “owes a huge thank you” to Israel for the strikes. “Our region would have been a place that is not safe for anyone if Iran had accomplished their plan,” Hotovely said.
“There was an imminent threat … Our enemies are saying clearly they want to eliminate Israel … We should believe them.”
Damage to Israeli oil refinery
An Israeli oil-refining company has reported damage to pipelines in Haifa, northern Israel, from Iran’s overnight missile salvo.
Bazan said its refining facilities were still running, with no injuries, but that some parts of the complex had been shut down.
In a statement to the stock exchange this morning quoted by Globes, the company said that it is “examining the impact on its operations” including the financial implications for the energy sector as well as an assessment on the damage and repairs needed. Attacks on Israeli energy production are rare.
Reeves: Britain is taking precautions
The UK government is calling for “calm heads” and de-escalation, Rachel Reeves has said.
The chancellor told Sky News on Sunday that it was right for Britain to send combat jets to the Middle East to protect its assets in the region. “It does not mean that we are at war. It does not mean that we have been involved in these strikes and this conflict. It’s a precautionary move.”
However, Reeves did not rule out British assets being used to defend Israel. “The prime minister and our allies are urging for de-escalation, that is what is really critical now, calm heads and a de-escalation of the conflict,” she said.
The question now: who can take more pain?
Doubts remain about how effectively Israel can hit Tehran’s nuclear programme but there is room for escalation — and danger of catastrophic miscalculation, Mark Urban writes
‘Evacuate immediately’: IDF signals more strikes
Israel’s military has told Iranians to evacuate “military production factories”, suggesting further strikes are likely.
Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces, issued an “urgent warning to all Iranian citizens”.
It reads: “All individuals who are currently or will soon be inside or near military weapons production factories and their supporting institutions must immediately evacuate these areas and not return until further notice.”
Earlier on Sunday Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran would cease fire if Israel did the same. He also claimed that Israel had “crossed a new red line” by targeting nuclear facilities.
Germany hopes nuclear talks are still on
Britain, France and Germany are ready to hold “immediate negotiations” with Iran about its nuclear programme, according to the German foreign minister.
Johann Wadephul said he hoped talks were still possible despite the cancellation of a US-Iran meeting due to be held in Oman on Sunday.
“Germany, together with France and Britain are ready,” he told the German broadcaster ARD. “We’re offering Iran immediate negotiations about the nuclear programme. I hope it is accepted.
“This is also a key prerequisite for reaching a pacification of this conflict, that Iran presents no danger to the region, for the state of Israel or to Europe.”
Israelis await news in a bomb shelter on the outskirts of Tel Aviv
OHAD ZWIGENBERG/AP
The Houthi rebels in Yemen say they have attacked Israel in co-ordination with the Iranian army.
Several ballistic missiles were fired towards the port of Jaffa near Tel Aviv, a spokesman said. He described the strikes as “triumphing for the oppressed Palestinian and Iranian peoples”.
It followed reports from Israeli media that Israel targeted a meeting of senior Houthi leadership in Yemen on Saturday night.
Israel bombed two oil depots including Sharan, a huge plant outside Tehran
GETTY IMAGES
Israel’s military said it had hit Iran’s defence ministry headquarters and other military targets linked to the country’s “nuclear weapons project”.
Explosions were heard in Tehran at about 2.30am on Sunday. Fuel depots were also hit during the “larege-scale wave of attacks” by fighter jets, the IDF added. “These targets advance the effort to obtain nuclear weapons,” the military said in a post on social media.
Iranian authorities have so far not issued any updates on damage or casualties. The first wave of Israeli strikes from Friday night into Saturday morning killed 78 people and wounded 320, according to Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s UN ambassador.
President Trump has threatened Iran with “the full strength and might of the US armed forces” if it targets the United States.
It follows reports in Iranian media that Tehran had warned the US, the UK and France that it would strike their military bases and naval vessels in the region if they chose to defend Israel.
Trump insisted that the US had “nothing to do with” Israel’s latest attack on Iran overnight.
He added: “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.”
Trump also claimed that the conflict could be ended “easily” with a deal between Israel and Iran.
At least ten killed in Israel
Iran launched a new wave of missile strikes on Israel overnight, killing at least ten people including a ten-year-old boy.
Residents rushed to bomb shelters after air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa shortly after 11pm local time.
Strikes were reported in Rehovot and Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, in western Galilee and in the Haifa region.
Six people were killed in Bat Yam, where at least 35 people were said to be missing after an eight-storey building was hit, according to officials. More than 140 were injured in the attacks, according to Israel’s ambulance service.
Four other women were said to have been killed in strikes elsewhere.
Binyamin Netanyahu visits areas hit by strikes
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has toured areas of Bat Yam that were destroyed in overnight strikes by Iranian missiles.
Although there was no statement from the Israeli leader, footage showed him inspecting the ruins of an apartment building in the city. Six residents of the building died in the attack.
The Israeli president Isaac Herzog was also present, according to The Times of Israel website.
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“Dozens of homes in this area were completely damaged by a single missile launched from Iran in a cruel and terrible missile attack that was launched across the entire country,” Herzog said.
He added: “This is a very significant moment in the history of Israel. We must show the emotional and mental resilience that we always have.”