Civilian deaths are growing as more attacks are reported in the capital and other parts of the country.
At least 555 people have been killed in US-Israeli strikes across Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, as another wave of intensive attacks and Iranian counterstrikes escalated tensions across the Middle East.
Iranian officials reported heavy casualties Monday.
At least 35 people were killed in southern Iran’s Fars province. More than 20 others were reported killed in an attack on Niloofar Square in Tehran.
At least two people were killed in the central city of Sanandaj after several residential buildings near the city’s police station were destroyed. Iranian officials said six missiles struck different parts of the city, including densely populated neighborhoods.
Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said US-Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday.
“Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” Najafi told reporters, describing the facility as peaceful.
Neither Israel nor the United States immediately confirmed strikes on Natanz. The site was previously bombed by the United States during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Reporting from Tehran, journalists described growing concern over rising civilian casualties as strikes hit beyond military targets.
Large plumes of smoke were seen rising near the international airport in the western city of Kermanshah, according to verified video footage.
Iranian authorities said the death toll from an Israeli strike on a girls’ school in Minab on Saturday rose to 180.
Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations at Iran’s Health Ministry, said the same type of missile was used in an attack on Gandhi Hospital in Tehran on Sunday. The hospital sustained heavy damage and patients were evacuated.
Iranian emergency services said their central building in Tehran suffered serious damage in a missile strike Monday, injuring several workers.
Explosions were also heard near Revolution Square in central Tehran, where demonstrators had gathered to protest US-Israeli attacks. Iranian officials said air defenses intercepted the strike.
The Israeli military said Monday that Iran launched additional missiles toward Israel and that air defenses were intercepting projectiles. Authorities urged residents to remain in protected areas.
Israeli police said nine people were killed in an Iranian missile strike on the central city of Beit Shemesh. Eleven people were reported missing as rescue operations continued.
Iran also launched retaliatory strikes targeting US-linked assets across the Gulf region, with reported attacks in Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Airports, residential buildings and hotels were among the reported targets.
Gulf countries said they would defend themselves and respond to any aggression.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was not seeking confrontation with its Gulf neighbors but was targeting US assets in the region.
