Iran Red Crescent says Israeli strike hits ambulance, killing two

The Iranian Red Crescent and local media reported on Saturday that an Israeli strike hit an ambulance in the country’s northwest, killing two people.

Tasnim news agency reported an explosion at a barracks in the city of Urmia, adding “rescuers and ambulances heading towards the barracks came under direct attack from Israel”, leaving two people dead. The Red Crescent confirmed the information in a brief statement of its own.

Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region.

Israel launched its surprise attack on Iran early Friday, only days before Iran and the United States had been due to hold a sixth round of talks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

The operation — dubbed “Rising Lion” — has since killed Iran’s highest-ranking military officer, Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, among other senior generals.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had Tehran in its sights after strikes on dozens of missile launchers and air defenses in the area around the Iranian capital.