Iran launches a new wave of missile attacks on Israel as conflict enters fourth day

Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country as emergency services reported at least eight killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of a conflict between the regional foes that showed no sign of slowing.

Powerful explosions, likely from Israel’s defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn. Plumes of black smoke rose into the sky over the major coastal city.

The latest salvo comes after a weekend of escalating tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran that raised fears of a wider, more dangerous regional war.

Iran on Sunday said Israel struck oil refineries, killed the intelligence chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and hit population centers in intensive aerial attacks.

'New method'

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the latest attack employed a new method that caused Israel's multi-layered defence systems to target each other and allowed Iran to successfully hit many targets.

The Israeli Defence Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. Israeli officials have repeatedly said its "Iron Dome" defence system is not 100% and warned of tough days ahead.

"The arrogant dictator of Tehran has become a cowardly murderer who targets the civilian home front in Israel to deter the [Israeli military] from continuing the attack that is collapsing his capabilities," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. "The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon."

The death toll in Iran was already at least 224, with 90% of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.

Israel's military said on Monday morning it had struck again at command centres belonging to the Revolutionary Guard and Iran's military.

Leaders meet

Group of Seven leaders began gathering in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday with the Israel-Iran conflict expected to be a top priority.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his goals for the summit include for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel's right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.

"This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit," Merz told reporters.

Before leaving for the summit on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump was asked what he was doing to de-escalate the situation. "I hope there's going to be a deal. I think it's time for a deal," he told reporters. "Sometimes they have to fight it out."

Brent crude futures were up 0.5% in Asian trade on Monday, having surged late last week. While the spike in oil prices has investors on edge, stock and currency markets were little moved in Asia.

"It's more of an oil story than an equity story at this point," said Jim Carroll, senior wealth adviser and portfolio manager at Ballast Rock Private Wealth. "Stocks right now seem to be hanging on."

Trump warns Iran not to attack US targets 

Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the U.S. has taken part and warning Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include U.S. targets.

Two U.S. officials said on Friday the U.S. military had helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel.

The U.S. president has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but which Western countries and the IAEA nuclear watchdog say could be used to make an atomic bomb.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told parliament on Monday the country has no intention to produce nuclear weapons but it would continue to pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.

Foreigners are being evacuated from Iran and Israel

Some 120 people, including diplomats and their families, were evacuated from Iran via Turkmenistan, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. Many of those evacuated were from fellow Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, officials said.

Turkmenistan, a gas-rich nation that has remained largely isolated under its autocratic rulers since it became independent following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, shares a 1,148-kilometer (713-mile) border with Iran.

The Czech Republic is also sending a plane for Czechs who want to leave Israel amid the conflict with Iran, the Czech Foreign Ministry said. Other Czechs will use another plane sent by the government of Slovakia headed to Jordan to return home.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it helped 14 Taiwanese leave Israel by bus for Jordan on Sunday and will help them travel onward. The ministry is in touch with another nine Taiwanese currently in Iran and will assist them if they need help departing, the ministry said in a statement Monday.

Concussion of Iranian missile causes minor damage to US Consulate in Tel Aviv

The American Consulate in Tel Aviv suffered minor damage from the concussion of an Iranian missile landing nearby, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on Monday.

Huckabee said in a post on X there were no injuries to American personnel but that the consulate in Tel Aviv and Embassy in Jerusalem would remain closed through the day as a precaution.

The damage came amid a new wave of Iranian missile attacks on Israel in retaliation for Israel’s sweeping attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure.

Iran’s health ministry says 224 killed since Israel’s attack began Friday

Iran’s health ministry says 224 people have been killed since Israel’s attack began Friday.

Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1,277 other people were hospitalized, and asserted that over 90% of the casualties were civilians.

Israel has said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 others wounded.

EU foreign ministers to meet Tuesday by video link

The European Union’s top diplomat will convene an emergency meeting of the 27-nation bloc’s foreign ministers Tuesday to discuss the conflict between Israel and Iran.

The meeting, to be held via video link, “will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, coordination on diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran, and possible next steps,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ office said Sunday.

“We will continue to contribute to all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to find a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue which can only be through a negotiated deal,” it said.

Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader, US official says

President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei.

After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter.

The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.