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Iran struck a base in Saudi Arabia, wounding U.S. service members and damaging planes, in retaliation for Israeli attacks on two of the country’s nuclear facilities on Friday.
The Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base injured at least 10 American troops, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the situation. Two of them were seriously hurt, according to one of the officials.
Both of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. Several refuelling aircraft were damaged.
Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities hours after threatening to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran on Friday.
Iranian state media said two nuclear facilities had come under attack. Israel claimed responsibility and Iran quickly threatened to retaliate.
“Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said via X.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the Shahid Khondab heavy water complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted, IRNA reported.
The strikes did not cause any casualties and there was no risk of contamination, it said. The Arak plant has not been operational since Israel attacked it last June.
Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after impurities are removed from the raw ore. Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
The Israeli military later said the raw materials are processed for enrichment at the Yazd plant and the strike was a major blow to Iran’s nuclear program.
WATCH | Israel threatens to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities:
Israel says it will expand attacks on Iran as Tehran rejects U.S. ceasefire proposal
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says the military’s attacks on Iran ‘will escalate and expand to additional targets and areas that assist the regime in building and operating weapons against Israeli citizens.’ Tehran has rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all of Iran’s enemies.
Seyed Majid Moosavi, IRGC’s Aerospace Force commander, said on X that employees of companies tied to the U.S. and Israel should abandon their workplaces: “This time, the equation will no longer be ‘an eye for an eye,’ just wait.”
Late Friday, Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles at the country. Sirens alerted people to seek shelter in and around the city of Beer Sheba and areas near Israel’s main nuclear research center, which were targeted by Iranian strikes that injured dozens last weekend.
U.S. pushes diplomatic solution
Word of the attacks on Iran came after Trump claimed that talks on ending the war were going “very well” and that he had given Tehran more time to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran maintains it has not engaged in any negotiations.
With stock markets reeling and economic fallout from the war extending far beyond the Middle East, Trump is under growing pressure to end Iran’s chokehold on the strait.
WATCH | Trump gives Iran more time to reopen Strait of Hormuz:
Trump delays Iran ultimatum again, sending mixed signals
Tensions are rising in the Middle East as U.S. President Donald Trump delays his ultimatum to Iran once again. While the U.S. signals progress in potential peace talks, Iran denies formal negotiations are even underway. With mixed messaging, market reactions and repeated deadline extensions, it’s unclear whether this is a path to diplomacy — or a tipping point toward escalation.
A Gulf Arab bloc said Thursday that Iran has been exacting tolls from ships to ensure safe passage.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington delivered a 15-point “action list” to Iran for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. It proposes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.
Iran rejected the offer and presented its own five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the waterway.
Trump has said if Iran doesn’t reopen the strait to all traffic by April 6, he will order the destruction of Iran’s energy plants.
Attacks appear to intensify early Saturday
Witnesses in eastern Tehran reported a partial power outage following airstrikes. In Israel, loud explosions filled the air in Tel Aviv and emergency crews responded to nearly a dozen impact sites.
An Associated Press journalist heard loud explosions in Tel Aviv, and Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to 11 different impact sites across the metro area. A man in his 60s was pronounced dead late Friday after suffering severe injuries, emergency services said.
Residents carry personal belongings as they leave a building damaged in a missile strike in Tel Aviv early Saturday. (Maya Levin/The Associated Press)
Defence Minister Israel Katz had earlier vowed that Iran “will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime.”
Israel focused its attacks Friday on sites “in the heart of Tehran” where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced, the military said. It said it also hit missile launchers and storage sites in Western Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry, meanwhile, said it shot down missiles and drones targeting the capital, Riyadh.
Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port to the north, which is under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, sustained “material damage” in attacks.
It appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab states has come under attack in the war. China has continued to purchase Iranian crude.
Authorities said more than 1,100 people have been killed in Lebanon and over 1,900 people in Iran since the war began. Eighteen people have died in Israel, while four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon.
At least 13 American troops have been killed, and four people in the occupied West Bank and 20 in Gulf states have also died.
In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have died.
