Israel, Iran Trade Strikes for a 3rd Day as Netanyahu Vows ‘Heavy Price’ for Civilian Deaths

U.S. President Donald Trump calls on Iran to agree to a new nuclear deal to avoid further destruction.

Israeli rescuers search through the rubble of heavily damaged buildings, following an overnight Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, Israel, on June 15, 2025. Gil Cohen-Magen /AFP via Getty Images

Israel and Iran continue to strike each other for a third day on Sunday, with Israel threatening to respond with even greater force as some Iranian missiles breached Israeli air defenses and hit residential buildings.

A new round of missile exchanges came after what Israel described as preemptive airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, top regime officials, military leaders, and nuclear scientists. Neither side has shown any sign of backing down.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of an Iranian missile strike on an apartment building in Bat Yam, where six Israelis were killed and dozens more injured. Search efforts are ongoing for three residents still missing. Israeli authorities reported at least ten deaths and dozens of injuries from Iranian missile attacks on central and northern regions.

“Iran will pay a very heavy price for the murder of civilians,” Netanyahu said. “We are here because we are in an existential battle, which today is understood by every citizen of Israel.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning on Sunday for Iranian civilians to evacuate areas around weapons factories.

“All individuals currently present or expected to be present in or around military weapons manufacturing facilities and their supporting institutions must immediately evacuate these areas and not return until further notice,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee wrote in a post on the military’s Arabic-language X account. A similar message was published in Persian.

“Being near these facilities puts your life at risk,” he said.

The IDF said its air force struck multiple Iranian ballistic missile launchers overnight, along with air defense systems and radar installations. According to the IDF, some of the launchers were used in missile attacks on Israel that killed civilians during the night’s barrages.

In addition, the IDF reported targeting approximately 80 sites in Tehran, including fuel depots, the Iranian Ministry of Defense headquarters, and other facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli fighter jets also bombed gas infrastructure near the port city of Bandar Abbas, which the military said supports Iran’s military and nuclear efforts.

On the Iranian side, there has been no updated casualty report since Saturday, when Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations stated that 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi defended his country’s actions as “legitimate self defense,” and insisted attacks on Israel would cease only if Israel halts its own military campaign.

“We are defending ourselves and this defense is completely legitimate,” Araghchi told foreign diplomats on Sunday, reported state-owned broadcaster Press TV. “Therefore, if the aggression stops, our reactions will naturally stop as well.”

Araghchi also accused the United States of being complicit in Israel’s actions and said Washington must “accept responsibility.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated that the United States was not involved in the attacks on Iran, and that Iran can only avoid further bloodshed by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.

In a post on his Truth Social account early Sunday, Trump warned that any retaliation directed against America would be met with a military response “at levels never seen before.”

“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!” the president wrote.