Israel-Iran conflict: Latest developments

Israel and Iran traded deadly fire again on Tuesday, the fifth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fueling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East. 

Here are the latest developments:

Israel struck an Iranian state TV building – forcing a presenter to flee mid-broadcast – in the latest escalation of a major aerial campaign launched on Friday, which has seen nuclear and military sites in Iran hit as well as residential areas and fuel depots.

Iran's Health Ministry said at least 224 people have been killed in the country and more than 1,200 wounded.

Tehran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones that hit Israeli cities and towns, killing at least 24 people and wounding 592 others, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

Israel has said it killed several top military commanders and atomic scientists in Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Monday that Israel was eliminating Iran's security leadership "one after the other."

Netanyahu: 'Changing the face of the Middle East'

Netanyahu said Israel was "changing the face of the Middle East" with its military campaign against Iran, which could lead to "radical changes" in the country.

He said that Israel was "pursuing three main objectives: the elimination of the nuclear program, the elimination of ballistic missile production capability, and the elimination of the axis of terrorism," referring to Iranian-backed militant groups in the Middle East.

"We will do what is necessary to achieve these goals, and we are well coordinated with the United States," he said.

He also did not rule out killing Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel claims full air superiority over Tehran

The Israeli military said that after a wave of strikes, its forces had destroyed one third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers.

According to military spokesman Effie Defrin, "we have now achieved full air superiority over Tehran."

Reza Sayyad, a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, said their targets in Israel included "sensitive and important" security sites as well as "the residences of military commanders and scientists."

Among the sites hit in Israel was a major oil refinery in the coastal city of Haifa, an Israeli official said after a military censorship gag order was lifted.

Residential areas in both countries have also suffered deadly strikes.

Iran: Strikes on Israel are self-defense

Iran's strikes on Israel are self-defense and are "proportionate defensive operations directed exclusively at military objectives and associated infrastructure," Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the UN Security Council on Monday.

Iravani told the Security Council in his letter that Iran was acting under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which requires the 15-member Security Council to be immediately informed of any action states take in self-defense against armed attack.

"In the past 48 hours, Iran has launched over 1,000 missiles and drones directly at Israeli civilians," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Monday. "Iran aims its missiles at children, while we target the regime's terror machine."

The Security Council met on Friday, at the request of Tehran, over Israel's initial attacks on Iran.

World leaders call to halt attacks 

The conflict has rapidly escalated despite calls from world leaders to halt the attacks.

China urged Iran and Israel to "immediately" take steps to reduce tensions and "prevent the region from falling into greater turmoil."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Monday that Ankara was ready to play a "facilitating role" to end the conflict.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believed "there's a consensus for de-escalation" among G7 leaders, who are meeting in Canada.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for both sides to "end" strikes on civilians and warned that aiming to overthrow Tehran's clerical state would be a "strategic error."

(With input from AFP, Reuters)