Israeli strikes kill 146, wound 532 in Iran, rights group says

The US government-funded Voice of America has recalled its Persian-language staff from administrative leave, the US Agency for Global Media said on Friday.

Several dozen employees, sidelined since March under a directive from the Trump administration, were told to return to work "effective immediately" to boost Farsi programming amid the Israel–Iran crisis, according to an internal email seen by Politico.

The move comes as Iran and Israel have exchanged strikes and missile fire, prompting a surge in regional tensions.

Prior to the March cutbacks, VOA broadcast four or more hours daily in Persian, aimed at countering Iranian state media and reaching both domestic and diaspora audiences.

Rescue workers respond at the scene of a missile impact in Rishon LeZion on Saturday, following Iran’s overnight strikes on central Israel. At least two people were killed and around 20 injured in Israel, where officials say some victims lacked access to protected shelters.

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Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that Foreign Minister Sayyid  Badr  Albusaidi has conducted a series of phone calls with regional and global counterparts.

The discussions, the ministry tweeted, are part of ongoing efforts "to contain the dangerous military escalation and tensions in the region," sparked by Israel's attacks on Iranian territory on Friday.

In these conversations, Sayyid Albusaidi "emphasized the importance of halting the aggression and deterring the aggressor through peaceful means, based on international law and justice."

He added that the goal is to "prevent further bloodshed, destruction, and loss of life, and to safeguard the security, stability, and the supreme interests of the region and its peoples."

An extensive Israeli air and intelligence operation preempted a major Iranian counterattack, according to a report by Axios citing Israeli officials.

As Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air force commanders convened in a bunker to coordinate a response to the anticipated Israeli strike, Israeli intelligence, aware of both the emergency protocol and the bunker’s location, destroyed the facility. The strike killed senior IRGC figures, including the heads of Iran’s drone and air defense programs.

The Israeli operation targeted Iran’s military command-and-control systems across the country. Among those killed were top commanders of the IRGC, Iran’s military, and the national emergency HQ.

"The fact that there was nobody to give the order neutralized an immediate Iranian response," an Israeli official said.

Simultaneously, Israel’s Mossad conducted sabotage operations inside Iran. Axios reports that Mossad units deployed hidden weapon systems near air defense positions and established a drone base inside Iran well ahead of the strike. When activated, these assets destroyed missile launchers and air defense sites, including at Esfajabad base near Tehran.

The Israeli Air Force, having pre-mapped Iran’s radar and missile defense systems, struck most of them in the operation’s opening phase, reportedly achieving near-total air superiority.

According to Israeli assessments cited by Axios, the initial goal was to prevent Iran from launching a salvo of 300–500 ballistic missiles. Instead, Iran responded hours later with around 100 drones, most of which were intercepted.

Israeli officials expect that Iran may still attempt a large-scale retaliation. “We think they want to prepare a significant missile barrage that would be big and coordinated in order to try and overwhelm our missile defense systems,” an official told Axios.

Iranian officials say a critical miscalculation left the country vulnerable to Israel’s sweeping military campaign on Friday, according to a detailed New York Times report based on interviews with senior Iranian military figures.

Tehran had expected Israel to wait until after another scheduled round of US-Iran nuclear talks on Sunday in Oman before acting, and dismissed signs of imminent attack as psychological pressure.

As a result, key precautions were neglected. Top IRGC commanders, including Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, reportedly ignored a directive not to gather together and were killed while meeting at a military base in Tehran.

Also, "officials said that the night of Israel’s attack, senior military commanders did not shelter in safe houses and instead stayed in their own homes, a fateful decision," the report said.

Israel struck at least 15 sites across Iran, including major cities and critical infrastructure. The attacks severely damaged air defenses, missile bases, and the aboveground portion of the Natanz nuclear facility. Iranian leadership is said to be grappling with the scale of the intelligence failure and the political cost of the unprecedented strike, which has raised questions even within the Islamic Republic’s ruling circles.

Despite internal divisions and fears of escalation, Ali Khamenei ultimately authorized a limited retaliatory missile barrage on Israel, though IRGC members admitted they were unable to launch the planned 1,000 missiles due to damage from the initial Israeli strikes. Only about 100 missiles were launched in the end.