Israel hits nuke site in Tehran, Irani missiles struck Israeli city

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it struck a strategic research and development facility in Tehran, allegedly used by Iran to develop nuclear weapons components, reported Xinhua.

The IDF said as part of the recent waves of strikes completed in Tehran, the Israeli air force, guided by intelligence, targeted the facility, part of Malek-Ashtar University of Technology in Tehran.

It claimed that the site was used by Iran's military industries and ballistic missile array to develop nuclear weapon components and weapons.

It said the university was subordinate to the Iranian defense ministry, and is sanctioned internationally "due to its activities and efforts over the years to advance the Iranian nuclear program and to develop ballistic missiles."

Meanwhile, Iran's missile attacks injured 175 people in Israel's southern cities Arad and Dimona on Saturday evening, Israeli authorities said on Sunday, reported CCTV+.

The Iranian missile attack in Arad wounded 115 people, which is the largest number in Israel since the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran started on Feb. 28. Among them nine people were seriously injured.

Rescuers were still searching for victims in the struck residential buildings in Arad on Saturday evening and early Sunday morning.

"The forces need to go floor to floor to make sure that there's nobody remaining underneath any of this rubble. Also, the Israel police bomb disposal unit arrived here, and they had to clear the site of any dangerous debris from unexploded ordnances or things of that sort," said police spokesman Dean Elsdunne.

"So the missile size is, what we appraise, is about half a ton. It's a missile that we didn't intercept. We have a great air defense system, but nothing is 100 percent," said Adam Ittah, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces.

All educational activities in the affected areas have been canceled, and schools across the country will be closed for two days.

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday it has hit an Israeli F-16 Fighting Falcon in the country's central airspace, reported Xinhua.

In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the aircraft was struck at 03:45 a.m. local time (1215 GMT) by air defense systems of its Aerospace Division.

It added that the country's armed forces have successfully tracked and intercepted over 200 hostile aerial targets, including drones, cruise missiles, and fighter jets, since the war with the United States and Israel began late last month.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said in a Saturday statement that it carried out a large-scale wave of strikes in Tehran overnight, targeting IRGC facilities producing critical components for ballistic missiles.

The strikes severely harmed Iran's ability to continue producing essential components for ballistic missiles, it said.

Iran fires missiles at US-British base in Indian Ocean

Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the U.S.-British Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

The Wall Street Journal and the CNN reported on Friday that Iran had fired ballistic missiles at the base on the island of Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands, but they did not hit the base.

Britain agreed on Friday to allow the United States to use the Diego Garcia base to launch strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the British media.

The decision came after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was "very disappointed" in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for blocking U.S. forces from using the military base to carry out strikes on Iran.

Iran's FM says mediation efforts underway to end war

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said mediation efforts are underway by several countries to end the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.

Araghchi made the remarks in a Friday interview with Japan's Kyodo News, published Saturday, while voicing Iran's openness to any initiative to that end.

He said that Iran does not seek a ceasefire, "but a complete, comprehensive and lasting end to the war," reminding that the war has been "imposed" on Iran.

The attacks began when Tehran was in the middle of nuclear negotiations with the United States, Araghchi said, adding that Iran's response to the U.S.-Israeli attacks constitutes self-defense and will continue for as long as needed.

On the Strait of Hormuz, he said Iran has not closed the waterway, but has imposed restrictions on vessels belonging to countries involved in anti-Iran attacks.

Araghchi said Iran is ready to ensure safe passage for other states' vessels through the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Tehran.

Saudi Arabia declares 5 Iranian envoys personae non gratae

Saudi Arabia declared the Iranian embassy's military attache and four other embassy staff personae non gratae, and asked them to leave the country within 24 hours, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said Saturday in a statement.

The decision was a result of the Iranian attacks against countries including Saudi Arabia, it said, adding that the country will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to preserve its sovereignty, safeguard its security, and protect its territory, airspace, citizens, residents, capabilities and interests, in accordance with the UN Charter.