Conflict with Iran: Israel mourns new victims
According to government figures, at least 24 people have been killed in Iranian missile attacks on Israel so far. The death toll has risen by eleven since midnight alone, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's office announced on Monday afternoon (local time). Nearly 600 people in Israel have been injured since Friday.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said a "new military method" was used. This resulted in Israel's multi-layered defense systems firing at each other, successfully hitting multiple targets.
Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Friday night , and the Islamic Republic responded with fierce counterattacks. The Israeli army reportedly targeted nuclear facilities and military targets in particular. According to official figures, more than 220 people have been killed in Iran, including several high-ranking military officers and scientists.
Western countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suspect that Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. The leadership in Tehran rejects this claim. Its nuclear program serves exclusively civilian purposes, it repeatedly asserts. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned in Vienna that the military escalation "is delaying the essential work on a diplomatic solution to ensure, in the long term, that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons."
Katz: Tehran will "pay the price"Following new rocket attacks in the Haifa region and the Tel Aviv area, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a direct warning to the people of Tehran. Residents of the Iranian capital "will have to pay the price of dictatorship and be forced to leave their homes in those areas where attacks on regime targets and security-relevant infrastructure in Tehran will be necessary," Katz wrote on the online platform X. The minister had previously called Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an "arrogant dictator" who had become a "cowardly murderer."
According to government sources in Washington, Israel intended to kill Khamenei. US President Donald Trump vetoed the move. Asked about this, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "There are so many false reports about talks that never took place, and I'm not going to respond to them. We're doing what we have to do."
"USS Nimitz" sets course for the Middle EastIn light of the escalating conflict, the United States is apparently deploying the aircraft carrier "USS Nimitz" to the region. The warship left the South China Sea on Monday morning and headed west toward the Middle East, according to data from the website Marine Traffic.
However, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says he does not expect the United States to intervene in the conflict. "I have not the slightest indication that the US has any interest in getting involved," Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk, joining from his Middle East trip in Oman.
Recently, the question of whether the US could help its ally Israel destroy the underground Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow was discussed. Experts believe this would require extremely powerful bunker-busting bombs. The US has such weapons, but Israel does not.
Meanwhile, the Federal Foreign Office (AA) in Berlin called on all Germans in Israel, Iran, and neighboring countries to register on the "ELEFAND" crisis preparedness list . This will allow German diplomatic missions abroad to quickly contact people in an emergency. There are currently no concrete plans for evacuations, but they are keeping all options open, an AA spokesperson said.
wa/se/pg (dpa, afp, rtr)
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