Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day
World
Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day
NEW YORK (AP) - The death toll grew Sunday as Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks for a third consecutive 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 Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13. The country’s main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. There was no update to an Iranian death toll released the day before by Iran’s U.N. ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.
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.
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.
Israeli security forces inspect a destroyed building that was hit by a missile fired from Iran, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“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!”
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.
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 neighborhoods 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 neighborhood, “Air Force” in Farsi, in the east of Tehran. The extent of these explosions has not yet been reported.
The Niroo Havaei neighborhood is where the headquarters of Iran’s air force is situated.
