Air defences were activated over Tehran and the surrounding areas after explosions during Nowruz celebrations. Residents reported sustained overnight strikes into Saturday as attacks on the capital intensified.
US-Israeli forces struck the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz enrichment complex on Saturday morning, though Iranian officials said technical assessments found no radioactive leakage.
Israel said its latest strikes targeted Tehran, Karaj, and the central city of Isfahan. In Ramsar, three members of a family were killed in a strike on a residential building, Iranian media reported, citing a local official. In the southwestern province of Khuzestan, a child was killed and two adults wounded in an air attack on Ahvaz, according to Mehr news agency.
Iran’s Health Ministry says at least 20,984 people have been injured since the start of the war.
In a statement, it added that seven hospitals have been evacuated and 36 ambulances damaged.
The escalation comes as Washington increases its military presence in the region. The United States is deploying between 2,200 and 2,500 additional Marines, while another amphibious force carrying roughly 2,500 troops has been redirected from the Pacific. The reinforcements will join more than 50,000 US personnel already stationed in the Middle East.
Al Jazeera correspondent Kimberly Halkett said the deployments could signal “potential US boots on the ground in Iran,” particularly in scenarios involving control of strategic routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island.
In less than 24 hours, Trump suggested the war could wind down as the Iranian threat was being eliminated, while the heavy landing craft were headed to the region.
"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," Trump said on Truth Social.
"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!" he added. "If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated."
Trump had also accused NATO allies, who had not been consulted about the war, of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian forces said they had launched their 70th wave of retaliatory strikes, firing missiles and drones towards Israel and US bases across the Gulf.
Tehran said its attacks had disrupted Israeli military aviation, including strikes near Ben Gurion Airport, while Israeli authorities reported multiple missile barrages.
Iran’s military said joint operations by the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had forced Israeli forces to evacuate positions, while Israeli authorities reported nine separate missile salvoes targeting the country.
The IRGC said its air defences shot down an Israeli fighter jet, F-16, in Iranian airspace, the third such incident reported during the war.
Israel's army said earlier a surface-to-air missile was launched at one of its warplanes in Iran, but it was not clear if the statements referred to the same incident.
US medias claimed, Iranian missiles were also allegedly launched towards the US-UK base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, though US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal said the projectiles failed to reach their target.
One missile reportedly failed in flight, while the other was intercepted by a US warship.
The attempted air strike occurred as the UK agreed to let the US use British military bases to hit Iranian sites.
There has been no confirmation from Tehran, and the Iranian authorities have not acknowledged any involvement in the reported attack.
The conflict has spread to Gulf states, with Iran targeting energy infrastructure in response to earlier attacks on its South Pars gas field.
Bahrain said it had intercepted two additional missiles, bringing the total number of projectiles it has destroyed since 28 February to 143 missiles and 242 drones. In Saudi Arabia, the defence ministry reported intercepting at least 47 drones over the eastern region, including a concentrated barrage of 38 within three hours.
In Kuwait, the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was targeted multiple times, while in Qatar, strikes on the Ras Laffan facility caused significant damage and reduced LNG export capacity by approximately 17 percent, according to authorities. The United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted ballistic missiles and drones, adding that hundreds of projectiles have been engaged since the conflict began.
Israel has also continued strikes beyond Iran.
In Beirut, fires broke out in central districts following evacuation warnings for seven neighbourhoods.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people, wounded 2,584 others, and displaced over one million, according to authorities.
Medics and officials say there is systematic use of double-tap Israeli strikes in a campaign to make the south uninhabitable.
Since the war began on 2 March, Israel has struck at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances across south Lebanon, killing 40 healthcare workers and wounding 107, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Most of the strikes on medics happened while they were sitting in ambulances or at first aid centres. Israel has also carried out at least five double-tap strikes, a tactic in which an initial strike is followed by a pause, allowing medical workers to arrive before the area is bombed for a second time.
Medical workers and hospitals are protected under international law, and deliberately targeting them constitutes a war crime.
During the last Israeli war in Lebanon in 2024, the occupation army killed nearly 230 medical workers.
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