Trump warns Tehran: Make deal or face more airstrikes

Iran retaliates to attack by firing ballistic missiles at Israel

- BEL TREW and ANDY GREGORY

Donald Trump has warned Iran to make a nuclear deal or face “slaughter” as fears of all-out war in the Middle East grow.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched “Operation Rising Lion” in the early hours of yesterday morning with an attack on Tehran’s nuclear facilities and military commanders.

Israel said around 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft dropped 330 munitions on around 100 targets in total, which included ballistic missile factories. In all, at least 20 senior commanders were killed, two regional sources said, reportedly including the head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace force.

Last night Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people were killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians.

Iran warned “the gates of hell will open” in retaliation and last night it fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv and other major cities. Following the retaliatory strikes, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel had made a “grave error” that would bring them to ruin. “They are the ones who have started this and have begun a war,” he said. “We will show them no mercy. Life will definitely become bitter for them.”

Israel’s ambulance service said 34 people were injured last night in the Tel Aviv area, most with minor injuries. Police later said one person had died. Israel also launched fresh strikes on Iran in the early hours of today and several explosions were heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the US president issued a stark warning to Tehran while also indicating there was still time to avert further attacks.