CNN
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Israel’s unprecedented strike on Iran’s Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tehran, along with other locations tied to Iran’s nuclear program, has triggered a days-long exchange of missile attacks between the two countries. Tensions have only escalated since, and the death toll is rising.
At least 224 people have been killed in Iran since hostilities began Friday, the country’s health ministry said Sunday, as cited by Iranian state media. Meanwhile, 24 people had been killed in Israel as of Monday morning, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The Israeli operation against Iran is expected to take “weeks, not days” and is moving forward with implicit US approval, according to White House and Israeli officials. US President Donald Trump said his country “had nothing to do with” the Israeli attacks but acknowledged Sunday that it’s “possible we could get involved.”
CNN is tracking where the attacks are happening and which Iranian nuclear facilities have been targeted.
Following Israel’s initial attack, Iran launched a wave of retaliatory strikes, targeting multiple locations across Israel. CNN journalists on the ground heard explosions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and video showed smoke rising from the two cities.
Iran has fired 370 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel over four days of conflict, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Monday. The projectiles successfully struck 30 sites in Israel, it added.
Although Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes, Israel has long seen it as a threat. Israeli strikes have hit three of Iran’s nuclear facilities — Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. Little damage appears visible in satellite imagery of Fordow.
The Natanz nuclear facility is Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility and “the heart of Iran’s ballistic missiles program,” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Several structures at Natanz have sustained significant damage.
Four critical buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site have been damaged, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Although damage to three buildings was visible via satellite imagery taken on June 14, damage to a fourth was not immediately clear. A spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran claimed damage at the site was limited.
Impacted infrastructure also includes missile facilities in Kermanshah, Shiraz and Bid Kaneh, according to satellite company Maxar – all in different areas of Iran. Satellite images show destroyed or damaged buildings and vehicle tunnels in Kermanshah, but no buildings appear to have been destroyed in Shiraz.
The Israeli strikes have also killed several high-profile individuals, including Iran’s highest-ranking military officer. Iran has already moved to fill some key roles.
