The UN nuclear agency confirmed on Saturday that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site had been hit, in the latest strike amid Israel’s bombing campaign.
“A centrifuge manufacturing workshop has been hit in Esfahan, the third such facility that has been targeted in Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear-related sites over the past week,” the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement quoting its chief Rafael Grossi.
“We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” Grossi was quoted as saying
The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East. UNHCR reported population movements from Tehran and other regions, with some crossing borders.
“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Israeli-initiated conflict with Iran continued to escalate early Saturday, with both sides exchanging fresh strikes, even as diplomatic efforts in Geneva stalled with no breakthrough on a ceasefire.
At least 430 people were killed and 3,500 were wounded in Iran since the start of the Israeli-Iranian conflict on June 13, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country’s health ministry. Israel has on the other hand reported 24 deaths with more than 800 others injured.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based rights organisation that tracks Iran, gave a higher death toll than Tehran, saying Israeli attacks have killed 639 people there. Those killed in Iran include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists.
An Iranian missile triggered a fire in a residential building in central Israel, prompting evacuations and emergency response, though no casualties were reported.
The fire, believed to be caused by debris from an intercepted missile, came amid ongoing aerial exchanges. Sirens rang out across central and southern Israel as five ballistic missiles were fired from Iran, according to Israeli officials, with no immediate damage or injuries reported aside from the Holon fire.
Iran’s missile strikes were in retaliation to Israeli air assaults targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Sirens were heard across southern Israel as the emergency service reported that five ballistic missiles had been fired. No immediate damage or casualties were reported from the missile launches.