Iranian media reported deaths in central Iran as Tehran fired new missiles at Israeli targets.
At least 15 people have been killed in a missile attack on an industrial area in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, Iranian media reports, adding that workers were inside a factory at the time of the attack.
An attack on a factory making heating and cooling equipment hit a working day in Iran on Saturday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, which blamed US and Israeli forces for the attack.
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Iran’s health ministry says it comes on the 15th day of the conflict, which has left at least 1,444 dead and more than 18,500 injured since the US-Israeli attacks began on February 28.
Cities across Iran have been repeatedly targeted since the beginning of hostilities.
On March 8, shelling damaged Russia’s consulate in Isfahan, injuring staff, with Moscow calling the strike a “gross violation” of international conventions.
Iran’s Culture Ministry said on Saturday that 56 museums and historical sites had been damaged, including Isfahan’s 17th-century centerpiece Naqsh-e-Jahan Square and the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran.
UNESCO said it was “deeply concerned”, noting that four of Iran’s 29 World Heritage sites were affected.
Separately on Saturday, Iran’s military confirmed that Brigadier General Abdullah Jalali-Nassab was killed in the Israeli strike, saying he was “martyred while defending the country”.
Earlier, US forces also attacked Kharg island, which handles about 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports, although a regional official said the operation was continuing normally and there were no casualties.
US President Donald Trump had previously threatened to target the island’s oil infrastructure if Tehran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz.
There doesn’t seem to be any possibility of dialogue even remotely. The Trump administration has rejected regional efforts for a ceasefire, with a senior White House official telling the Reuters news agency that the president is focused on moving forward.
“At present they have no interest in it and we will continue the mission unhindered,” the official said.
Reuters quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying that Iran has equally ruled out talks as long as the attacks continue.
Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a defiant tone on Saturday, saying the US security infrastructure in the region has proven “full of flaws” and calling on neighbors to “drive out foreign aggressors”.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the war was entering a “decisive phase”, which would continue “as long as necessary”.
Iran fired new missiles at Israel on Saturday, with explosions heard above Jerusalem, according to AFP news agency journalists.
The Israeli military said six waves of missiles, some of which were carrying cluster bomb warheads, struck wide areas of the country. In Eilat, three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured by the impact of a cluster munition, according to The Times of Israel.
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