Live: Iran holds funeral for top military, nuclear figures killed in Israeli strikes

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of starting a war against Iran in order "to scuttle a DEAL between Iran and the US.

In a post on X, Araghchi said Netanyahu was "a con man who has duped successive US Presidents into fighting his own wars for almost three decades. By all indications, the purpose of Netanyahu's criminal attack on Iran - killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children - is to scuttle a DEAL between Iran and the US, which we were on the right path to achieve.

Araghchi also accused Netanyahu of "playing" President Donald Trump and American taxpayers "for absolute fools". He said if Trump was serious about diplomacy, it would take "one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu". He also warned that an absence of a negotiated solution would have untold consequences for regional security and the global economy and get the US "mired in the Mother of Forever Wars".

"Let us not forget: Iran did NOT begin this war and has no interest in perpetuating bloodshed. But we will proudly fight to the last drop of blood to protect our land, our people, our dignity and our achievements," he added.

Israel conducted unprovoked military strikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday morning, leading to hundreds of deaths and the bombing of multiple sites in Iran, with Iran then responding with retaliatory attacks on Israel. 

In the wave of mutual attacks, Israel has killed at least 224 civilians in Iran since the onset of the conflict. Iran has killed at least 24 people in its attacks on Israel. 

Iran condemned an Israeli military strike on state TV headquarters, calling it "a despicable act and a war crime".

Israel bombed Iran's state TV headquarters on Monday. The attack is the latest carried out by Israel since it began military strikes in Iran in the early hours of Friday morning. Israel has killed 224 civilians so far. Iran has launched retaliatory attacks and killed 24 people so far. 

Iran state TV resumed live coverage after Israel’s attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Monday.

The building was attacked as programmes were being broadcast. Live programmes were briefly halted.

An Iranian news anchor could be seen reporting live on air, and then fleeing as debris fell over her head.

Israel began bombing multiple sites in Iran on Friday in an unprovoked attack, including on residential buildings. Top Iranian military officials, scientists and civilians were killed. At least 224 people have been killed by Israel in Iran. Iran has responded to Israel's provocation and has issued retaliatory strikes, which have killed 24 people in Israel. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that he believed the Group of Seven leaders meeting in Canada was united in wanting de-escalation between Israel and Iran, reported AFP on Monday. 

"I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation," Starmer told reporters at the summit in the Canadian Rockies.

Starmer's comments came after Israel attacked Iran in the early hours of Friday morning without provocation.

An Israeli military spokesperson issued an evacuation warning for a designated area in Tehran, according to a post by the spokesperson on X.

Reporting by Reuters

An Israeli assault on an Iranian military base in west Tehran as well as bombs sounding off east of the capital has been reported by local media. 

The attacks come after the Israeli army issued displacement orders for a large portion of the city.

The Arabic-speaking army spokesman Avichay Adraee threatened in a Persian post on X that the Israeli military "will attack the military infrastructure of the Iranian regime in this area, as it has done in recent days in Tehran."

"Your existence in this area endangers your life," he added.

Iranian state media announced the killing of six members of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and two Basij paramilitary from the city of Khomein.

"This attack, which was carried out with the aim of creating fear and panic among the people and disrupting the security of Khomein city, was confronted and neutralized by the timely and decisive efforts and actions of the IRGC," the Public Relations Office of the IRGC said in a statement. 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has briefed the agency’s board of governors in Vienna on the condition of Iran’s nuclear sites, following a series of Israeli strikes.

Grossi confirmed that no new damage had been detected at the Natanz or Fordow uranium enrichment facilities.

“The agency is and will remain present in Iran. Safeguards inspections in Iran will continue as soon as safety conditions allow, as is required under Iran’s NPT safeguards obligations,” he said in a statement.

Earlier, Grossi had confirmed that Israeli attacks destroyed the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz. Iran had also reported damage to facilities at Fordow and Isfahan.

He added that the strikes had knocked out the electrical infrastructure at Natanz, which may have affected centrifuges inside the cascade hall. However, he noted that radiation levels in the surrounding area remained normal.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has raised alarm over the escalating confrontation between Israel and Iran, urging both sides to pursue immediate diplomatic talks to prevent further bloodshed.

“The military escalation between Israel and Iran is deeply worrying,” Turk said as he delivered his annual address to the 59th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

He called for “urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way forward” and stressed the need to uphold international law, especially in protecting civilians caught in densely populated areas.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a Monday phone call, agreed to push for an immediate halt to the Iran-Israel conflict and prioritise diplomatic efforts, according to Turkey’s presidency.

Erdogan reiterated his stance that resuming nuclear negotiations offers the only path to resolving the crisis, the presidency’s statement added.

Under the glittering chandeliers and gilt-panelled walls of a Hapsburg palace in Vienna, Iranian and American negotiators are locked in conflict talks.

At stake is the revival of the historic 2015 nuclear deal, which sought to resolve a key element in more than 40 years of US-Iran enmity and which Donald Trump, then the US president, abruptly withdrew from in 2018.

Trump set the United States once again on a path to regime change in Tehran, and plunged the Iranian economy, poised to reap the benefits of the agreement, into free fall.

Looming over the talks is the prospect of what failure might hold: a potential US or Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities that could unleash a wave of violent retaliation across the Middle East by Iran and its allies.

Read more: Iran and the US: When friends fall out

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in Vienna declared it unjust to expect Tehran to uphold voluntary commitments to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) while its treaty rights remain disregarded and its nuclear sites face attacks from a non-member state, state media reported on Monday.

Iran’s state media outlet IRNA reported that an Israeli missile strike targeted Farabi Hospital and Medical Centre in Kermanshah, western Iran, causing extensive damage.

“At around 9am [05:30 GMT] this morning, the criminal Zionist regime launched a missile attack on the Farabi Hospital and Medical Center and surrounding buildings,” it said.

“Following this attack, Farabi Hospital suffered serious damage in various parts.”

Images revealed blood-stained floors littered with shattered glass and debris inside the hospital.

Al Jazeera-verified videos captured thick smoke billowing over Kermanshah, with one clip showing heavy plumes rising from the Dieselabad area after the strike.

The Kremlin announced Russia’s willingness to mediate the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, with prior proposals to store Iranian uranium in Russia still available.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia’s earlier suggestions to de-escalate tensions remain valid, though recent hostilities have made negotiations more challenging.