Israel-Iran conflict as it happened: Strikes on Tel Aviv, Tehran continue with multiple fatalities, injuries reported; UN two-state solution meeting between Israel, Palestine postponed

Thank you for joining us as we have covered the latest events in the developing conflict between Israel and Iran. It is now 1pm in Israel and 1.30pm in Iran, both of which are counting the cost of missile exchanges overnight, as we close the blog for the evening. We will be back soon with coverage of more live news, so please join us then.

Running through recent events:

• the death toll in Israel has risen to 13 over the course of the conflict, and 10 of those fatalities occurred overnight, including six killed in a strike on a residential building in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, and four in a missile strike on a building in the northern town of Tamra
• the information on fatalities coming out of Iran is scant, though Iran’s UN ambassador said on Saturday that 78 people died in Israel’s initial strikes, since which time there have been further targeted attacks on people involved in Iran’s nuclear program
• Israel has warned Iranians to evacuate military weapons productions factories, in a signal that more strikes are planned
• Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim has reported that two agents from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad have been arrested
• Financial markets have taken a hit, with oil surging 7 per cent and investors rushing to safe haven assets such as gold

Goodnight and stay safe.

Breaking: Iran’s police spokesman says two members of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad have been arrested in Alborz province, in the northwest of the country, 30 kilometres from Tehran.

The semi-offical Tasnim news agency reported that the alleged agents were were preparing explosives and electronic devices when they were arrested.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reiterated that Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons and is open to an agreement that would ensure that.

“But if the purpose of an agreement is to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, then naturally, we are not prepared to accept such an agreement,” he said in a meeting with diplomats.

Araghchi had planned to attend a sixth round of indirect talks with the U.S. over Iran’s disputed nuclear program before they were called off after Israel’s surprise bombardment of Iran’s military and nuclear sites on Friday.

Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the US and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.

The airstrikes between Iran and Israel on Saturday night came as US President Donald Trump faced protests against his immigration crackdown and birthday celebrations at home. A grand military parade that celebrated the US Army’s 250th birthday and coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday was seen by some as a display more befitting of Pyongyang than Washington.

In nearly all 50 states, “No Kings” protests drew thousands – tens of thousands in some cities – seeking to voice their distaste for the Trump administration and the commander-in-chief himself.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday they had targeted central Israel’s Jaffa with several ballistic missiles in the past 24 hours in co-ordination with Iran, as Israel and Iran continued to exchange missile attacks.

The group has been launching attacks against Israel, most of which have been intercepted, in what they say is support for Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war there.

Earlier, Israeli media reported that the IDF had launched a targeted assassination attempt on Houthi military chief of staff Muhammad Al-Ghamari in Yemen. The results of the strike were not known.

The Houthis started attacking maritime traffic in the Red Sea shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The group’s slogan is “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam” and it is seen as a proxy of Iran.