Iranian missile fired after US strikes causes heavy damage but few injuries in Tel Aviv

     Tel Aviv, Jun 22 (AP) The US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's effort to destroy Iran's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe.
    The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
    But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 13,600-kilogram bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground.
    President Donald Trump announced the strikes. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The agency did not elaborate. Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate.
    
    Here is the latest:
    
     Revolutionary Guards killed in an Israeli strike, Iranian media say
    
     An Israeli airstrike killed three members of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, semiofficial news agencies in the Islamic Republic reported Sunday.
    The Mehr and Tasnim news agencies reported the attack took place in Zanjan province.
    
     Israel's military said it struck sites around multiple cities in Iran
    
     One major target claimed by the Israelis was the Imam Hussein Strategic Missile Command Centre in Yazd. Social media footage showed orange smoke rising after one Israeli strike on the area. It could be the result of ammonium perchlorate, a missile fuel component, burning.
    The Israeli military said other strikes targeted missile launchers in Ahvaz, Bushehr and Isfahan.
    Iran has not offered any details on the damage it has sustained in the Israeli bombardment.
    
     Ex-US diplomat in charge of Mideast believes there's still a chance for negotiations
    
     Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near-Eastern affairs under President Joe Biden, told The Associated Press that the top priority of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been “the preservation of the Islamic Republic, preservation of the theocratic style of governance and the regime itself.”
    “If the regime feels that its existence is at stake, it will use any weapons that come to hand, whether the arsenal of ballistic missiles, depleted conventional forces, terrorism, asymmetrical attacks,” she said.
    “But it has clearly signalled throughout the nine days of this conflict with Israel that it is trying to avoid a second front, and that is a front with the US So really at this moment, how the US comports itself, I think will be the decisive factor.”
    
     UK is focused on de-escalation but also sent equipment to protect its interests
    
     British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his focus was on curbing the war and negotiating a solution, as he warned of escalation spreading beyond the Middle East.
    Starmer would not say whether the UK would be drawn into the war if Iran targets US bases, but said it was moving military equipment into the area to protect its interests, people and allies.
    “I'm not going to speculate about what may happen, because all of my focus is on de-escalation,” he said.
    The UK has sent additional Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran war started more than a week ago. Iran had threatened to attack US, French and British bases in the region if those countries helped Israel.
    
    Vance says he isn't worried about a protracted conflict' with Iran
    
     US Vice President JD Vance says America has “no interest in boots on the ground” in Iran, saying that he doesn't believe the strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites would lead to a wider war.
    “We have no interest in boots on the ground,” Vance said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press.” “I don't fear that this is going to become a protracted conflict.”
    Vance still stressed that there is a chance for Iran to engage in talks about its future, saying that the attacks created the environment for a “reset” of relations.
    “We want to end their nuclear program and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here,” Vance said. “This a reset. This is an opportunity for the Iranians to take the smart path. We certainly hope that they will.”
    
     Vance presses Iran to go down the path of peace'
    
     US Vice President JD Vance says that the US “didn't blow up” diplomacy with its attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
    He told NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday that talks over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program were never given a real chance by Tehran.
    “And our hope … is that this maybe can reset here. The Iranians can go down the path of peace or they can go down the path of this ridiculous brinksmanship of funding terrorism, of trying to build a nuclear weapon and that's just not something the United States can accept,” Vance said.
    He reiterated that the US wasn't at war with Iran, has no interest in a protracted conflict or boots on the ground. Vance says he felt “very confident that we've substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon,” and it would be “many, many years” before Iran could develop a nuclear weapon.
    
     BA cancels flights to the UAE and Qatar
    
     British Airways cancelled flights on Sunday from London to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar after the US attacked Iran's nuclear facilities.
    All flights from Heathrow Airport to Dubai and Doha were canceled for the day. The airline diverted a Dubai-bound airliner Saturday night to Zurich. Flight BA109 was turned around after reaching Saudi Arabia, the airline said.
    The airline said it was offering flexible rebooking for customers scheduled to fly to the two cities through Tuesday.
    
    Hegseth says US intervention in Israel's war with Iran is not open-ended
    
     In concluding his briefing, the US defence chief attempted to once again reiterate an unwillingness for America's intervention in Iran to turn into a protracted war and labelled the overnight strikes as “intentionally limited.”
    “I would just say, as the president has directed and made clear, this is most certainly not open-ended,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding that it doesn't limit U.S. ability to respond and it will do so if necessary.
    “The most powerful military in the world is postured and prepared to defend our people,” Hegseth said.
    
     A Pentagon-provided map shows the path of B-2 bombers
    
     A Pentagon-provided map of the flight path taken by B-2 stealth bombers indicates that their approach to Iran took them over the Mediterranean and then over Israel, Jordan and Iraq.
    It is not immediately clear when those three countries were made aware of the flights. Israel has said the US strikes were carried out in coordination with its military. The US said the strikes did not involve Israeli jets.
    The Pentagon released the map to journalists as it gave details of the mission, which it described as causing “extremely severe damage and destruction” to three Iranian nuclear sites.
    
     US and Iranian officials say both countries are exchanging messages
    
     Hours after Iran's top diplomat disclosed that the line of communication between Washington and Tehran remains open, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed his remarks in a press conference.
    “I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,” Hegseth said.
    
     US military increases protective measures for US troops in the Middle East
    
     As the US and the region await Iran's response to the overnight strikes, Hegseth said that military generals have elevated force protection measures across the region, especially in Iraq, Syria, and the Persian Gulf.
    “Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice,” Hegseth told reporters. (AP)
    
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)