Israel-Iran tensions: Defence HQ targeted, Tel Aviv attacked; airstrikes continue as conflict enters Day 3 – 10 updates

The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East escalated after Israel launched airstrikes towards Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities. This marks the most significant assault on Iran since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. In retaliation, Iran launched missiles at Israel. Both sides exchanged missiles and drones, resulting in casualties.

Here are 10 top updates on Israel-Iran conflict

• At least eight were killed, including children and over 200 were wounded following rocket strikes by Iran at two sites during the early hours of Sunday, AFP reported, citing  Israel's emergency services. The deceased included a 69-year-old woman, an 80-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy, it added. 
• Israeli military claimed on Sunday it had attacked the defence ministry headquarters of Iran, nuclear infrastructure sites and other targets on the third day of the conflict. “The targets included the Iranian Ministry of Defence headquarters, the headquarters of the SPND nuclear project, and additional targets, which advanced the Iranian regime’s efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon and where the Iranian regime hid its nuclear archive,” Israel Defence Forces wrote on X.
• Iran launched missiles towards Israel during the early hours of Sunday, AFP reported citing local media. "A new wave of Operation Honest Promise 3 began a few minutes ago," it said.

• At around 2:30 am Sunday, a series of explosions were heard in Tehran, but their origin was unclear amid ongoing drone and missile exchanges between Iran and Israel, AFP reported.
• Iran fired another set of missiles, and the Israeli air force struck Tehran on Saturday night. The attacks also extended to energy infrastructure of Iran and resulted in an explosion at a natural gas processing facility linked to the giant South Pars field, Bloomberg reported citing Iranian media.

• “Tehran is burning,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz posted to X on Saturday. Prior to that, an Israeli strike targeted an oil depot to the northwest of Tehran, local media reported. However, the Oil Ministry assured that the situation is under control, it added.
• Iran claimed to have launched a missile and drone attack on Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, on Saturday. Israel stated that it had identified the missile launches and that its air defences were operational in intercepting the projectiles, the report said.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump in a 50-minute phone call, where he expressed concern over the ongoing tensions and a possibility of an escalation of the conflict in unpredictable ways between Israel and Iran, the New York Times (NYT) reported. Putin emphasised the need to avoid the conflict from growing further, it added.

• On Saturday night, Israel struck a meeting of Houthi leaders in Yemen, including their military chief of staff, Mohamed al-Ghamari, NYT reported citing Israeli officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
• The latest attack comes after Israel struck at “the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme," Netanyahu said in a video message on Friday. He also warned previously that Israel's operation against Iran to “continue as many days as it takes."
• Israel called the latest offensive as "Rising Lion," stating it aimed at Iranian nuclear infrastructure. However the Iranian state media stated that civilian infrastructure has been targeted as well.