Iran says three more nuclear scientists killed in Israeli strikes

Israeli military officials said on Saturday that Israel has attacked more than 150 targets across Iran using hundreds of munitions, including significant strikes on two nuclear sites, Reuters reported.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the aerial route to Tehran is "effectively open," indicating enhanced operational reach over Iranian airspace.

Iran fired around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel in four barrages, he added.

He added that nine senior nuclear Iranian scientists were killed in the attacks.

The officials confirmed that the Esfahan and Natanz nuclear facilities sustained substantial damage, and repairs at both sites are expected to take several weeks. Israel has not yet operated in Fordow nuclear facility, he added.

An Iranian military spokesman said on Saturday that Israeli electronic interference was responsible for some Iranian missiles striking residential areas during the attack on Israel.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the missile strikes were intended to hit military targets. However, he said Israeli electronic countermeasures disrupted their course.

“If some of our missiles hit residential areas, it was because Israel created interference to prevent the missiles from striking military targets,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

He added that “a number of these missiles were diverted to other areas under these jamming conditions.”

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that "Tehran will burn" if it keeps firing missiles at Israeli civilians.

"The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and bringing to reality the fact that they, and in particular the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal harm to the citizens of Israel. If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front - Tehran will burn," Katz said in a statement.

An Israeli airstrike on Saturday morning hit a site near the city of Asadabad in Iran’s western Hamadan province, killing two emergency workers and wounding five others, Iranian officials said.

Hamzeh Amraei, a senior local official, said the victims were part of an emergency response team caught in the strike.

Israel’s N12 News earlier reported the strike targeted ballistic missile launchers in the area believed to pose a threat to Israel.

The deputy political and security governor of Hamadan told Tasnim News Agency that five people were killed in the attack. He added there have been no reports of further strikes on Noje Airbase or Sobashi radar installations.