US-Israel Strikes Escalate on Day Eight; Iran Retaliates
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- Israel's military announced a "broad-scale wave of strikes" on Tehran and Isfahan early Saturday, while explosions and dark smoke rose across the Iranian capital as attacks continued past midnight
- Iran launched retaliatory ballistic missile strikes toward Israel, with at least five detected since midnight sending millions of Israelis into shelters, in what Al Jazeera's correspondent called a deliberate strategy to pressure the Israeli government
- At least 1,230 people have been killed in the weeklong conflict, and the US warned a forthcoming bombing campaign would be the most intense yet, with officials saying further casualties are expected daily
- The Mehrabad airport in Tehran was among the sites targeted, and strikes hit not just military and political centers but also residential areas, schools, and hospitals, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Tohid Asadi reporting from Tehran
- Trump's administration approved a $151 million arms sale to Israel after Trump said he would not negotiate with Iran without its "unconditional surrender"
- The United Kingdom granted permission for US use of its military bases, with a US B-1 Lancer bomber arriving at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday evening for what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called "defensive US action" against Iranian missile sites
- Iran's UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani told the Security Council on Friday that US-Israeli bombing of civilian areas constitutes "clear war crimes and crimes against humanity," and warned Iran would "take all necessary measures" to defend itself
Why it matters: The conflict has now drawn in UK military infrastructure and triggered a fresh $151 million US arms sale to Israel, while Iran is openly framing the strikes as war crimes at the UN and vowing to "take all necessary measures." Iran's explicit shift toward a strategy of keeping millions of Israelis in shelters signals the war is broadening in targets, geography, and civilian toll rather than winding down on day eight.
