Iran launches drone attacks, Israel say to continue attacks

Iran's army said Tuesday its forces used suicide drones to strike a weapons manufacturing facility and a satellite intelligence reception center in Israel's Haifa earlier in the day, reported Xinhua.

In a statement, the army said the targeted military facility played a key role in weapons production and was of strategic importance to Israel's combat capabilities. The satellite data center, it claimed, was critical to collecting military and intelligence data and had played a coordinating role in managing Israel's reconnaissance satellite operations.

Separately, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched its 35th wave of missile strikes Tuesday, hitting targets in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, as well as U.S. bases in the region. In a second statement, the IRGC said it also struck the U.S. Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates and a base in Bahrain, in addition to military bases, an airport and concealed missile launchers in Israel.

Also on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned damage to the Chehel Sotoun Palace and other sites at Isfahan's Naqsh-e-Jahan Square, a UNESCO-listed complex, caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes. Days earlier, the Golestan Palace in Tehran, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was damaged in strikes.

The strikes are part of the broader conflict that began Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched coordinated attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders. Iran has since responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israeli and U.S. targets across the Middle East.

Netanyahu says Israel "not done yet" in attacks on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel was "not done yet" with its offensive against Iran, saying the attacks have severely weakened the capabilities of the Iranian government, according to a statement from his office on Tuesday.

Speaking during a meeting with Israel's health system leaders on Monday night, Netanyahu reiterated his call for the Iranian people to topple their leadership. He said Israel hopes the Iranian people would ultimately "cast off the yoke of tyranny," but added that such a change would depend on them.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said that talks with the United States are no longer on Tehran's agenda.

Speaking to U.S. PBS News, Araghchi emphasized that Iran is prepared to continue its missile operations for as long as necessary, signaling a firm stance against immediate negotiations with Washington following U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that the conflict with Iran would end "very soon."

Israel and the United States launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a deadly regional conflict that has spread across the Middle East.

1,300 Iranian civilians killed in US-Israeli military strikes

More than 1,300 civilians have been killed and 9,669 civilian sites destroyed in Iran in the military strikes launched by the United States and Israel since Feb. 28, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, said Tuesday.

The civilian sites included 7,943 residential homes, 1,617 commercial and service centers, 32 medical and pharmaceutical facilities, 65 schools and educational institutions, 13 Red Crescent buildings, and several energy supply facilities, Iravani told the press in a statement.

"They are deliberately and indiscriminately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure across my country. They show no respect for international law and no restraint in committing these crimes," he said.

"Densely populated residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure are deliberately targeted," he said, adding that the figures continue to rise as the U.S.-Israeli military attacks continue.

Iravani listed several instances in which civilian targets were attacked, including heavy strikes on fuel storage facilities in Tehran and other cities on Saturday night, releasing large quantities of hazardous and toxic pollutants into the atmosphere.

The explosions caused severe air pollution and serious health risks for civilians, especially children, women, the elderly, and those with critical health conditions, he said, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

"These heinous attacks also violate international environmental obligations, including those under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity," he said.

Iravani noted that other instances included attacks on Mehrabad Airport in Tehran early Saturday morning, destroying or severely damaging several civilian aircraft and airport facilities, and attacks on a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island in Hormozgan province, disrupting water supplies to 30 villages.

He also said that in the early hours of Sunday, Israel carried out "a deliberate terrorist attack" against the Ramada Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, killing four Iranian diplomats. "The targeted killing of diplomats on the territory of another sovereign State is a grave terrorist act, a war crime, and a flagrant violation of international law."

"The international community must act now to stop this bloody war against the Iranian people. We will take all necessary measures to defend our people, our territory, and our independence," he said.

Putin, Iranian president discuss Middle East situation over phone

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation Tuesday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said in a statement.

According to the Kremlin, the two leaders continued exchanging views on regional developments in connection with the Israeli-U.S. aggression against Iran.

Putin reaffirmed Russia's principled position in favor of a swift de-escalation of the conflict and resolving it through political means, the statement said.

Pezeshkian, for his part, thanked Russia for its support, including humanitarian assistance provided to Iran, it said.

The two leaders previously spoke by phone on March 6.

Daily brief about U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran: Day 11

The deadly conflict in the Middle East entered its 11th day on Tuesday, with no letup in military exchanges between Iran, Israel and the United States. Meanwhile, there has been no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough among the relevant parties.

Here's a quick overview of the latest developments and the impact of the retaliatory attacks on countries directly caught up in the regional crisis:

The United States

-- U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News that it is still possible for Washington to negotiate with Tehran.

"It's possible, depends on what terms, possible, only possible ... You know, we sort of don't have to speak anymore, you know, if you really think about it, but it's possible," Trump said. The remarks came after Trump said Monday that the U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran would be over "very soon."

-- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Tuesday will bring the "most intense" strikes against Iran since the war began, noting that "we will not relent" until Iran is "totally and decisively defeated."

Israel

-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel is "not done yet" with its offensive against Iran, saying the attacks have severely weakened the capabilities of the Iranian government.

-- The Israeli military said it has begun a new series of airstrikes against Iranian government targets in Tehran. It said later that new missile salvos from Iran targeted the country, with air raid sirens activated in the north, center and south of the country, including Tel Aviv.

-- The Israeli military said Monday night that it struck the drone headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which was used to launch drones toward Israel.

Iran

-- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the country is well-prepared to continue missile attacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the West Asia region for as long as needed.

Commenting on the selection of the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Araghchi said it showed the continuity of Iran's anti-U.S. and anti-Israel policies and the nation's stability.

Resuming negotiations with the United States is not an option, he said, citing "every bitter experience of talking with Americans" and saying he does not think it "would be on our agenda anymore."

-- Araghchi also held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

-- Iran will use missiles and submarines to stop the movement of the fleet of the United States and its allies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri said Tuesday in a post on social media platform X.

The post dismissed previous U.S. claims that its navy escorted oil tankers passing through the crucial waterway.

Iraq

-- The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced a new 72-hour extension of the country's airspace closure amid ongoing regional tensions.

-- Six members of Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were killed and three others wounded in an unidentified airstrike in northern Iraq's Dibis district.

-- The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned recent attacks targeting diplomatic and consular missions in Baghdad and Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, considering these acts "reprehensible." The condemnation came after the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was targeted by rockets on Saturday evening, and three explosive-laden drones were shot down over the Kurdistan region's capital Erbil on Monday.

-- Two Iraqi airbases, Victoria base at Baghdad International Airport and Balad Airbase north of the capital, were targeted Tuesday evening by drone attacks, causing material damage, according to army sources.

Bahrain

-- The Bahrain Defense Force said its air defenses have intercepted and destroyed 105 missiles and 176 drones launched against it by Iran.

The United Arab Emirates

-- The Ruwais oil refinery, considered the largest single-site refinery in the Middle East and among the top four largest in the world, has been closed as part of precautionary measures following a drone attack, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier in the day, authorities in Abu Dhabi said a fire broke out at a facility in the Ruwais industrial complex after a drone attack, with no injuries reported so far.

-- The UAE's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems have detected 262 ballistic missiles, 1,475 drones, and eight cruise missiles since the start of what it described as Iranian attacks. Six nationals of the UAE, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh have been killed, and 122 residents of multiple nationalities have suffered moderate to minor injuries in the country.

Qatar

-- Qatar's Ministry of Defense said that the country had been targeted by five ballistic missiles launched from Iran in the afternoon, which were all intercepted and neutralized by its armed forces.

Saudi Arabia

-- Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that the regional military escalation has caused a severe chain reaction in shipping and insurance, saying that prolonged disruption will worsen consequences for global oil markets and the wider economy.

About 17 percent of global oil supply normally transits the affected region, with disruptions so far amounting to nearly 80 million barrels, Nasser said, adding that the company's Ras Tanura oil refinery was shut down as a precaution after attacks, and that a small fire was extinguished quickly and the company is restarting the facility.

Jordan

-- Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held a phone conversation with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to discuss the repercussions of the dangerous escalation in the region and ways to restore calm, with both sides stressing the need to intensify coordination and cooperation to protect regional security and stability.

Lebanon

-- Several points along the border area in southern Lebanon witnessed intense clashes in the morning hours between the Israeli army and Hezbollah members, according to Lebanese security and military sources.

-- Hezbollah said in Israel, it struck a military base southeast of Tel Aviv, the Giv'a drone control base east of the city of Safed, Yiftah barracks, and Tziporit base east of Haifa.

-- The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon has risen to 570, with 1,444 others wounded since the escalation began on March 2, figures released on Tuesday by the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Council of Ministers showed.

The conflict has triggered large-scale displacement across the country. About 759,300 people have been registered as displaced, according to government data.

Cyprus

-- Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos met with visiting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, during which he said Europe should play an active diplomatic role in promoting de-escalation, stressing that Cyprus is "part of the answers and not part of any problem."

Turkey

-- The Turkish defense ministry said a Patriot air defense system assigned by NATO to support the country's airspace has been deployed in the eastern province of Malatya and is being prepared for operational readiness.

-- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that any violation of Turkish airspace "cannot be excused."